Gary Shaneck

Gary Karl Shaneck, age 73, passed away at his home on Monday, May 19, 2014. He had been suffering from COPD and injuries he sustained in an accident in 2002. Gary was the owner-operator of Spuyten Duyval Golf Club since 1974. Gary led a Tom Sawyer/Huckleberry Finn kind of life. He was born on March 27, 1941, to Ferdinand and Delia Berry Shaneck, the youngest of nine children. As his father included him in his activities as the Director and Game Warden of the Cedar Point Gun Club and Magee Marsh on Lake Erie, Gary was adept at fishing, hunting and trapping from an early age. He frequently recounted times rowing a boat far into the lake by himself as young as age 8, when his parents thought he was playing with friends. He could navigate the waters of Lake Erie like the expert seaman he was and could identify every dangerous shoal and all of the best fishing holes. Gary Meinke, a lifelong friend, said that Gary was also the best shot he ever saw and could bring down a goose on the wing when nobody else would even consider trying. He spent unforgettably happy hours fishing for perch and pickerel, shooting geese and ducks, and just enjoying the freedom and beauty of Lake Erie with his many life-long friends, Gary Meinke, Fritz Ackerman, Dave Ridenour, Bill Elden, Ted Cupp, and many more, too numerous to mention. He was in touch with many of his classmates throughout the years. Gary graduated from Clay High School in 1959 where he was known for his ability to play outstanding football as a guard. He liked to tell the story of how he put on his gear backwards when he went to his first varsity team practice at age 14, but went on to be elected to the Ohio Football Hall of Fame in 1959 and was awarded a football scholarship to the University of Nebraska that same year but suffered an injury which made him decide to leave football behind forever. He graduated from the University of Findlay in 1965. Gary went on to become the social studies and physical education teacher at Jones Jr. High school where he positively impacted many young lives. He was well-loved as a teacher and is still respectfully referred to as Mr. Shaneck by former students, many of them now grandparents. As with everything he did, he did this job very well and was approached early on in his teaching career about becoming a school principal. A chance remark in 1969 about wanting to own a golf course by a fellow teacher, Ted Cupp, led to Garys career in the golf course business. The two men then leased Chippewa Golf Club until 1972 when Gary purchased Spuyten Duyval and Ted moved to Rome, NY, where he purchased Rome Country Club. The two men remained life-long friends. Gary was a true visionary and recognized that the game of golf was going to become a major force in the sports world. In 1988, he designed and built Cottonwood Creek Driving Range and added the executive golf course in 1992, an executive nine-hole course and one of the first enclosed- heated hitting sites in this area. It adjoins Spuyten Duyval on West Central Avenue in Sylvania Township. Gary and his high school sweetheart, Sue Herbac, were married on December 28, 1963 and had one daughter, Sarai, and a grandson, Billy, who will follow his lead as owners and operators of Spuyten Duyval. Those who went before him include his father, Ferdinand; mother, Delia; sisters, Ruth Johnson, Genevieve Miller, Fern Miles, and Shirley Diekman; brothers, Howard, Willard, and Robert. His sister, Audrey, resides in Fostoria, Ohio. Gary also was a generous and loving uncle who could never say no to his numerous nieces and nephews. Gary was the ace of spades, the queen of hearts, the jack of diamonds, the king of the universe. He was the Pied Piper of Hamlin and people happily joined him wherever he was. He will always be our touchstone and our support. He loved us unconditionally and we will miss him every day. A reception for friends and family to honor Garys life will be held from 2-8 p.m. on Saturday, at the Walker Funeral Home, Sylvania Avenue. Burial will be private at a later date.