
The John Shinnick Web Site
Last Update: September 7, 2025
John Shinnick 3.0: It's All About Me
~ Quote of the Month ~
Why look for conspiracy when stupidity can explain so much ~ Johann Goethe
This guy died in 1832. How could he have possibly known so much about life in 2025? Amazing.
Betty’s memorial
I’ve lived in my current house for nearly 44 years, having moved in on November 1, 1981. When I moved in, Dick and Betty were already living in the house across the street. I remember watching the basket mounted above their garage door getting substantial use from kids Jim and Kate. Oh, and one of the parents. It wasn’t Dick. I watched Betty shoot and thought “this woman has played before.”
I would later have a chat with Dick about Betty’s athletic prowess. Basically, if Title 9 had come into being earlier, his wife would likely have been competing at the national level in any of several sports. I had no reason to doubt him.
I was never especially close to these neighbors across the street, but it was always a good relationship and I can only hope that they thought as much of me as a neighbor as I did of them. It was tragic that many years later, each would suffer a serious stroke that limited their activities substantially. The couple would later move to a nearby assisted living facility. Dick would pass away during the pandemic, his memorial held over Zoom. Then, this last August 10, Betty joined him.
I heard from Kate about the memorial for her mother. As I prepared for the event, I found that even having recently lost about 12 or 13 pounds, I couldn’t fit into either of my sport coats. No matter, I had a nice shirt and slacks, and it’s difficult to outgrow a tie. But would I remember how to tie a tie? I hadn’t done so in quite some time. I was surprised that it only took me two attempts to get the correct result. I couldn’t find my tie clips, so I simply didn’t use one.
The service itself was very nice and enlightening. I suppose many kids are taught The Lord’s Prayer as a bedtime ritual. My mom did that for me, and it seemed to be a very strong memory for Betty’s kids. There are a number of versions out there varying by a word here or a phrase there, but the one they used (printed in the handout) was only one word off (an inconsequential “and”, certainly not enough to send anyone to Hell for eternity) from to the one I had learned so long ago and still recite before going to sleep. I find it helps me clear my head. At the service, we all recited it at near the beginning of the service. It would not be the only thing I would learn that made me feel closer to she and her family.
She Will Be Missed
I learned so much about this woman I’d lived across the street from for forty years. I knew that she had been quite the athlete, but not that she had actually played tennis with Billie Jean King! Impressive. She also excelled at softball and most any other sport she’d try. And she could probably have been an engineer had women been doing that sort of thing back in “the day”, whereas Dick was the one who was unlikely to get his hands dirty.
One surprising thing I learned about Betty was that she was also the musician of the family. If only I’d known! A story was told about how she would take her son to kindergarten and, before leaving, would sing and play guitar on what was then a popular folk song, “Stewball,” which I remembered from my youth as a Peter, Paul and Mary song. She (like my sister and much later me) was also a big fan of Joan Baez.
The service went a little over an hour, about right I felt. Lots of fun and enlightening stories, the right mix of mourning for her loss and celebrating her life. I was glad I went, although I didn’t know more than a handful of people there. I suspect that at my age, such occasions will be my principal reason for wanting to wear a jacket of some kind. I was okay, but I would have felt better with at least a sport coat. I should buy one for such occasions. Or if I can just lose another fifteen pounds…
What My mom taught me, almost the same as what Betty taught her kids. This one has "and" after "Kingdom", her's just a comma.

Dates indicate the most recent update.
11/06/24 09/07/25 09/07/25 04/01/23
09/07/25 09/06/25 03/02/21 n/a

