Philip A. Shade

1934 - 2024

Philip A. Shade

Philip A. Shade died on June 6, 2024 after 90 full and active years of life. Phil was preceded in death by his beloved wife, Kathy; he is survived by 5 children (Susan Ehrlich, Dennis Shade, Cindy Campbell, Patrick Shade, and Christopher Shade) and 16 grandchildren. Phil enjoyed a lifetime of good health, the result he often claimed of being raised without indoor plumbing. He rarely got sick and passed through the pandemic without getting ill.

Phil was born on January 12, 1934 to Helen and Clyde Shade, owners of the Skidmore, Missouri newspaper. Phil often recalled that his birthplace was known for not tolerating bullies. During his childhood, his parents helmed different newspapers in Missouri, Nebraska, and Kansas. In 1951, Phil graduated from Franklin High School (Nebraska), president of his class of 29 students. He attended the University of Nebraska at Lincoln, majoring in Business and serving as Business Manager of his senior yearbook. After graduation Phil served in the army, being stationed in Germany. Here he met Helmut Ritter; the two remained friends until the end of his life. Phil's parents chronicled his time abroad in their newspaper, later joining him during leave to tour Europe. While in Germany, Phil acquired a Porsche Speedster, the first of many cars (whether full size or 1/16th scale) he owned during his lifetime.

After returning to the States, he met Kathleen Donahue, a music and special education teacher at a local school. The two married in 1959 and welcomed 5 kids over the next decade. Phil earned his Masters in Business from Kansas State University at Manhattan and his DBA from Indiana University at Bloomington. He began his teaching career at Colorado State University. Here he met two lifelong friends, Jim Breyley and Marilyn Hummer. Phil was a born teacher, mixing humor and life lessons in his Finance courses, about which many students reminisce fondly to this day. In 1974, participating in an international program afforded him the opportunity to teach at army bases near Cambridge, England and Kaiserslautern, Germany. The whole family joined him, developing rich memories as well as strong ties with Europe and with the family of his friend, Helmut Ritter.

In the mid-seventies, Phil taught at the University of Northern Colorado at Greeley, making the 80 mile roundtrip commute daily to allow the family to continue enjoying their home in Ft. Collins. As the kids grew and demands for transportation increased, Phil acquired the first of many Corvairs, a car he loved for its unique features and controversial history (targeted by critics for its unusual swing-axle suspension system).

In 1983, Phil returned to Nebraska to teach at Kearney State College (later the University of Nebraska at Kearney). He carried out the remainder of his teaching career here, retiring in 2000. Over several years, Phil remodeled a Kearney country house in the image of the Ft. Collins home. In both homes, Phil honed his skills of home-repair and landscaping, his lifelong love of trees apparent at each property.

After retirement, Phil and Kathy traveled throughout the states (including Alaska) and abroad (both Greece and China). Anyone who crossed paths with Phil during the last 20 years of his life heard about and saw pictures of the Valley of Fire (Nevada) and Moab State Park (Utah). He so loved their unique natural architecture that he was eager to share these experiences with everyone. After Kathy's death in 2014, he visited his friend, Helmut, in Germany and also enjoyed trips to Australia, New Zealand, and finally Egypt.

Phil had an abiding love for music. He played the trumpet in high school and occasionally tinkered on the piano, but singing was his main musical outlet. Phil enjoyed harmonizing with others while in a fraternity and the army, but his chief joy came from singing with Kathy in the church choir. After her stroke, Kathy had difficulty singing, but the two shared their love of music by watching (and rewatching) episodes of the TV series, Glee. The family has been blessed with a history of music-making and enjoyment.

A memorial service will be held at 10:30 A.M. CST on June 20 at the First Presbyterian Church Kearney, NE (livestreaming at https://firstpreskearney.subspla.sh/rmvx2ns).