Bob was born July 19, 1959 in Charleston, SC, to the late Iver Hersey and Arthur Emmett Shields. He graduated from Goose Creek High School where he was a member of Palmetto Boys State, and received a B.A. in Journalism from the University of South Carolina.
He is survived by his wife, Renee’ Ellisor Shields; son, Kevin, and daughter, Gena of the home. He is also survived by his sister, Michelle Daw Wenz (Ed) of Charleston, SC; brother, James Daw (Robben) of Mascoutah, IL; sister, Sheryl Shields Bailey of Summerville, SC; sister-in-law, Sandy Ellisor of Irmo, SC, and mother-in-law, Janice Counts Ellisor of Irmo, SC. In addition, he is survived by numerous nieces and nephews. He was predeceased by his parents and father-in-law, George W. “Pepper” Ellisor.
Bob loved spending time with his family, golf, and high school sports. While he was humble and did not speak of his accomplishments, his family feels it’s important to recognize his contributions. He served as sports director for WLTX for 30 years. The SC Broadcasting Association awarded him the Sportscaster of the Year Award 1994-1996. He began the high school Player of the Week program, which is still in place today. Not only did he cover Carolina and Clemson sports, he felt it was important to cover smaller schools such as SC State University, Benedict College, and Newberry College, to name a few. In 2008, he received the National Sportscasters & Sportswriters Hall of Fame Award for excellence in broadcast sports journalism. Prior to his retirement from sports casting in 2010, he received the Order of the Silver Crescent from Governor Mark Sanford. He was also honored with “Bob Shields Day” May 7, 2010 and given a key to the city of Columbia by Mayor Bob Coble.
After his retirement, Bob moved to a new career serving others as funeral director for Caughman-Harman Funeral Home and as manager of Thompson Funeral Home’s Woodridge Memorial Park & Funeral Home. Bob was known for his speaking engagements to students with emphasis that education was the key to their future. He was also an avid supporter of the Walk the Night campaign for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.
His family would like to thank his caregivers and Palmetto Health Hospice staff for the loving care, compassion and support given to Bob and his family. He was a loving husband, father, son, son-in-law, brother, uncle, and friend whose life impacted many people. His actions in life might best be summed up by this saying from Mother Theresa: “I alone can’t change the world, but I can cast a stone across the waters to make a ripple.”
The family will receive friends at St. Jacob’s Lutheran Church, 844 Columbia Avenue, Chapin, SC, on Wednesday, January 2, 2019 from 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. A memorial service will be held Thursday, January 3, 2019 at 11:00 a.m. at St. Jacob’s Lutheran Church. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the St. Jacob’s Lutheran Women and also to St. Jacob’s Lutheran Men’s groups.
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St. Jacob's Lutheran Church Men or Women's Ministry844 Columbia Avenue, Chapin, South Carolina 29036
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