It Happened in Crawford County: The Shutlers call Bucyrus a perfect fit

Larry Shutler was born and raised in Alliance, a son of Ernest and Edith Shutler. His dad had a major influence in his life. He introduced him to bowling, as well as becoming a member of the junior rifle club.

Larry’s grandfather was a fisherman and state champion in skeet shooting. The Alliance area is a "mega center" for competitive sports teams and their followers.

Larry’s entire schooling was in Alliance where he was involved in competitive athletics, including football, basketball and baseball. He worked as a youth leader at the YMCA and participated in the events there along with his friends.

Larry said he thankful his friendships were based on good character and never on ethnic backgrounds or skin color. His life was enriched by visiting homes of all his friends. Larry graduated from Alliance High School in 1959.

Larry enrolled at Mt. Union College, but he had never mastered the skill of studying. He decided he didn’t need college and dropped out and went to work in a factory. He learned in the next two years about "real life" and what it meant to spend a lifetime doing manual labor.

Larry was encouraged by the executive director at the YMCA to go back to college, entering Bluffton College in January 1962. He majored in social work with a minor in physical education. This time, he figured out how to study and matured, which allowed him to graduate in 3? years in 1965.

Bluffton was a very nurturing character-building school, he said. The culture at Bluffton was the honor system where a student could leave books and belongings on a bench and no one would bother it. Alliance was an entirely different culture.

Shutlers met in college

While at Bluffton College, Larry met Sheila Oscar, a daughter of Frank and Kay Oscar. They were a Slovakian family living in downtown Cleveland, but eventually moved to Parma. Sheila spent most of her schooling at the Parma City Schools — 4,000 in high school and a class of 1,000 when she graduated in 1961.

Parma schools had introduced a closed-circuit TV station for their announcements for the day. She was on the TV monitor several times a week saying it was a fun time and she wanted to major in TV and radio broadcasting. However, when she entered Bluffton College, it wasn’t available and she majored in elementary education with a music minor. She studied music growing up, also giving piano lessons to younger students.

Larry and Sheila both came from larger schools, therefore the opportunity to experience a small college was very appealing. The principals learned there were lifetime lessons on how to live a purpose filled life. Both were required daily chapel attendance and some kind of Christian outreach. Larry and Sheila met while bringing a Christmas program to the children living at the Lima Children’s Home. This party was an example of the Christian Outreach they were required to do.

Careers in teaching

Also, while at Bluffton, Sheila encouraged Larry to think about the competitive side of sports he was missing. He eventually made the decision to change his major to education. Larry and Sheila married in 1964, both graduating in 1965. Coaching and teaching led them to a variety of locations, starting in North Ridgeville, Findlay, Lima and finally to Bucyrus in 1985.

Teaching and coaching was fulfilling

During that time, they had three sons. Sheila stayed home for 10 years to raise them because it was very important to them, even with one salary.

Teaching and coaching was a dream come true for Larry because he loved working with young adults. He felt fortunate to do something he had a passion for and has no regrets in his career, even though it had its up and downs. Larry is always a positive person looking for the upside of things. He taught 45 years total, 10 more after he retired from Bucyrus City Schools, at the Delaware Career Center, driving there every day.

Sheila taught a total of 33 years at Lincoln Elementary, but also at Findlay and Lima. She was a second-grade teacher, saying it’s not hard to get them going. Life is good for them. They can read and, for the most part, they just want to keep learning. Larry said Sheila was always good at teaching reading, a real gift of its own.

Their son, Troy (Kim), lives in Mason. His job is in human resources at Cleveland Cliffs. Son Darren (Melissa) lives in Westerville. He is partial owner of Duck Donuts and a manager at Polaris. Chad (Wendy) lives in Bluffton. He is the women’s basketball coach and a professor at Bluffton University, completing his 17th season there.

The couple is active at Good Hope Lutheran Church. Larry is president of BORN.

“Bucyrus has been good to us," Larry and Sheila said. "We have accessibility to things we enjoy, including teaching in midsize schools, it fits us perfectly. We’ve met so many people and made lifetime friendships here."

Go online for more of Mary Fox’s stories and photos on bucyrustelegraphforum.com. If you are interested in sharing a story, write Mary Fox, 931 Marion Road, Bucyrus, OH 44820 or email [email protected].

This article originally appeared on Bucyrus Telegraph-Forum: Larry and Sheila Shutler enjoy retirement in adoptive home in Bucyrus