John W. Shutt Jr.

Shutt, John W. Jr (Jack) passed away in not just the house that he built himself, but in the home that he created. Surrounded by the family he cherished and fiercely protected: his wife, Mildred (Lyons) Shutt and his sons Michael and John-Jay Shutt. Son of the late John W. Shutt Sr. and the late Marion (Husband) Shutt. Brother to the late Mary Lou Shutt and late Jean (Shutt) McCraith.
Born in Braintree in 1933, he moved with his family to Marshfield in 1947. Jack graduated Marshfield High School in 1952 and served in the Armed forces during the Korean War. He then put himself through college and eventually graduated from Northeastern with a degree in engineering in 1961.
A member of the Brant Rock Call Fire Department for many years, Jack was a neighborhood hero. Every time the fire horn would blow all the kids in the neighborhood would come running out of their houses, up from the beach, or stop in the middle of their wiffle ball games and yell "Jack!!!!" and cheer him on as he suited up and headed off to the firehouse.
Jack loved the outdoors and especially the ocean. He was one of the first people to begin scuba diving in Brant Rock and on one dive off Hewitt's Point, he found an anchor which would lead to the discovery of a shipwreck. That anchor now sits on display in the park at The Brant Rock Pier.
His familiarity with and love for the ocean led Jack to join The Massachusetts Highway Department's inaugural scuba dive team where he spent the next 40 years inspecting the state's bridges and solving problems from underwater. He was not only an original member of the dive team, he was the oldest. When he wasn't solving problems underwater, he was solving them on land. Once, after going to a Marshfield Town Meeting and being told that there was no way to put a sewage system in Brant Rock, he ran for the Marshfield DPW and got elected. Once elected, he and fellow DPW member and friend Kieth Dobie designed Brant Rock's sewage system themselves. While on the DPW, their board was instrumental in elevating Brant Rock by building the Water Treatment Station, putting in The Access Road to the town pier, and acquiring Couch Cemetery.
Shortly after he retired from Mass Highway Department in 2006, a part of the Big Dig in Boston collapsed and he was asked to return as a consultant and went back to his old desk. He eventually stopped working and completed his last dive for the state at age 75. He and Milly then split their time between their home in Brant Rock and their condo in Naples, Florida where they had created another home for themselves.
If not quick, Jack was thoughtful, precise, and thorough. He never met a buffet he didn't like, loved Westerns, and never quite finished working on the garage he started renovating in 1964.
Jack was a charter member of the Marshfield Elks Lodge #2494, the American Legion, The DAV, and was a beloved member of the Green Harbor Yacht Club.
A life-long Red Sox and Patriots fan, he will be remembered by friends for his quick wit and dry sense of humor, by his wife Mil for his innate kindness and by his sons Michael and John-Jay as the best father anyone could ever have.
Visiting hours will be held on Wednesday, February 5, 2025 beginning at 10:00 a.m. and will conclude with a Funeral Service at Noon at the MacDonald Funeral Home, 1755 Ocean Street in Marshfield. Interment will be in the Winslow Cemetery, Winslow Cemetery Road in Marshfield.
In lieu of flowers, please extend an act of kindness to someone else in Jack's memory.
For online guest book, driving directions and other helpful information please visit the website macdonaldfuneralhome.com