Robert Ernest “Bob” Shellman, 92, former editor/publisher of The Oconto County Times-Herald and veteran of Patton’s 3rd Army during the second World War, died of natural causes Thursday, Sept. 10, 2015, at HSHS St. Clare Memorial Hospital in Oconto Falls.
Bob Shellman entered military service in 1942 after a semester at the University of Wisconsin, where he played trombone in the marching band. He completed basic training at Camp Hood (later Fort Hood), Texas. He received ordinance training at the Aberdeen Proving Grounds in Maryland before being assigned to the 3rd Army in Great Britain. His crew of artillery maintenance specialists landed in France. After helping relieve U.S. forces following the Battle of the Bulge, his unit reached Czechoslovakia at war’s end. The crew measured muzzle velocity of the “Big Bertha” type guns ensuring a longer lasting accuracy that would prevent them from firing on their own soldiers. It also meant the expensive barrels did not need to be replaced as often. In April 1945, the day after the U.S. Army’s liberation of Buchenwald Concentration Camp in Germany, he was present to witness the horrific sights of the atrocities. It bothered him ever after.
Upon his discharge from military service, Bob joined the family business, The Shellman Publishing Co., in Oconto Falls, which published The Oconto Falls Herald. He commuted to Lawrence College in Appleton initially and graduated from the University of Wisconsin in 1948 with a bachelor’s degree in business administration. Joining the firm full time, Bob was instrumental in the purchase of The Gillett Times and the creation of the Oconto County Times Herald in 1949.
Bob was born the first son of Ernest John “E.J.” and Nell Marie (Dorst) Shellman in Fennimore on April 21, 1923. The family moved to Crandon, where E.J. served as superintendent of schools until September 1929 when he bought into The Oconto Falls Herald. E.J. served as mayor of Oconto Falls from 1932-1940, and Bob graduated with honors from Oconto Falls High School in 1941.
In 1947 Bob married Pauline Barnum Gasser. The business thrived through the 1950s with Bob sharing writing and editing duties with his mother. For many years he wrote “Sports Banter,” an entertaining column in the area. He was responsible for most area reporting, in addition to selling advertising and job printing throughout Northeastern Wisconsin. In 1975, he married Loretta (Lytle) Mayer, who also joined the firm.
The family purchased The Seymour Press in the 1960s and became shareholders in Brown County Publishing. Bob’s brother Frederick “Fritz” joined the firm in 1958 and divested the Seymour paper from it in the early 1970s. Fritz died in 1981. E.J. retired from the business shortly after, and he died in 1983. Nell, known statewide as “Cousin Cynthia” from her weekly column, wrote her last one seven months before she died July 4, 1999, at the age of 101.
Bob served on the Community Memorial Hospital Board for 21 years and was engaged in other local activities,including construction of the River Island Golf Course. In 1952, he served on the State Legislative School Redistricting Committee and was involved in establishing the Oconto Falls School District as we know it today. He was also a member of the Wisconsin Newspaper Association board of directors for many years.
Wanting to stay fit, he became part of “The Soap and Towel Club,” a volleyball and exercise group that met at the high school for years. He was a varsity basketball team member his senior year in high school.
He was a member of American Legion Eick-Sankey Post 302. Bob’s former Army unit, the 283 Ordinance Ballistic Technical Service Detachment, held periodic reunions. He and his wife, Loretta, traveled to revisit European military sites with friends Ralph and Agnes Lemorande. On April 5, 2012, Bob joined the Old Glory Honor Flight to see the World War II War Memorial in Washington, D.C.
Survivors include his wife, Loretta; a brother, Gary (Sally), of Glendale; sons, Tom (Kathy) Gasser, of Tucson, Arizona, Robert Lynn, of Pewaukee, Roger Francis (Eileen), of Green Bay, Stephen Paul, of Manitowoc, and Max Harrison Mayer, of Oconto Falls; a daughter, Melissa Lee (Mayer) (James) Sly, of Green Bay; eight grandchildren and six great-grandchildren; two nephews, Lance Shellman, of Appleton, and Rudi Kraut, of Sun Prairie; one niece, Tracy (Jon) Yearwood, of Clintonville, and their two sons.
Visitation with the urn present will be held after 1 p.m. Friday, Sept. 18, 2015, at the Oconto Falls United Methodist Church, 165 Farm Road, until the time of service at 3 p.m., conducted by the Rev. Dave Henke. Graveside services with military honors will follow.
In lieu of other expressions of sympathy, memorials may be made to the American Legion Auxiliary Unit 302, P.O. Box 128, Oconto Falls, WI 54154.
Jones Funeral Service is serving the family.
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