TIMOTHY E. SHIELDS

1950 - 2020

TIMOTHY E. SHIELDS, 70, passed away unexpectedly on Tuesday, Feb. 25, 2020, in Jensen Beach, Fla. Born Feb. 4, 1950, in Huntington, Ind., he was the second son of James and Margaret (n‚e Scheiber) Shields. Tim grew up in Fort Wayne attending St. Jude Catholic School, Bishop Dwenger High School Class of 1968 and the University of Dayton Class of 1972. He met his wife, Beth, while skiing in Northern Michigan. They married in 1976 and had three children. Tim and Beth created a life in Fort Wayne where Tim was in the heat treating and metal fabricating business. He also invested in several other local businesses. Tim was on the board of WaterFurnace International (WFI), a company the Shields family had been involved with since 1983, eventually becoming Chairman of the Board. As Chairman, he successfully orchestrated the sale of WFI, a publicly held corporation, in 2014 to NIBE Industrier AB of Sweden. Tim was actively involved in the community. He was a board member of Saint Anne Home and Retirement Community in Fort Wayne, the Fort Wayne Parks Board and the Rotary Club of Fort Wayne. Tim served on the school board at Bishop Dwenger. He was the Chairman of Bishop Dwenger's successful capital campaign in the mid-1990s. Tim also coached numerous soccer, football, and basketball teams. Tim was known for his passions. Spending time with family and friends, traveling with his wife in their RV, hunting, fishing, waterskiing, boating, cycling, and telling stories were some of his favorite pastimes. He also enjoyed woodworking, knife making, and leather work. Throughout his life, Tim subscribed to the Rotary's Four-Way Test. Before he said, did, or thought something, he asked himself: Is it the truth? Is it fair to all concerned? Will it build goodwill and better friendships? And will it be beneficial to all concerned? But he added one more question, would my mother approve and be proud of me? Tim is survived by his wife, Beth; daughter, Kathleen (Benjamin) Roussel of Fort Wayne; sons, Kelly (Fabiana) Shields of Fort Wayne and Tim P. Shields, Esq. (Shant Ayanian, M.D.) of Annandale, Va.; seven grandchildren, Marybeth, Shannon, and Patrick Roussel, Layla, Juliana, Maria, and Gabriela Shields; brother, Michael Shields; sister, Patty (Michael) Khorshid; many nieces and nephews, extended family, and friends he considered family. He was preceded in death by his parents, James and Margaret Shields; and sister-in-law, Julie Shields. A reception in his memory will be held for friends and family from 4 to 8 p.m. Tuesday, March 10, 2020, at the Fort Wayne Country Club. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made in Tim's name to The Timothy E. Shields Scholarship at Bishop Dwenger High School (bishopdwenger.com), Fort Wayne Trails (fwtrails.org), or Top of Michigan Trails Council (trailscouncil.org).