Bill (Will) Shinners

[GregMik]

We loose NAFA's First Vice-President
Bill (Will) Shinners, 74, and NAFA's first Vice President passed away peacefully at his home last Saturday in Reno, Nevada. In addition to serving as NAFA's first Vice President, Bill hosted the first NAFA field meet at his home during the Thanksgiving weekend of 1962.

A more complete obit and details of his accomplishments will appear in the December HC and at the Field Meet Banquet in Alamosa.

[Harris]

Sorry to hear this. RIP :(

[Turumti]

Sorry to hear about his sad demise. Although they do not know me, but still convey my condolences to his family.

[Hatchero]

Bill was one of those guys you could not help but like. i met him some years ago while doing some bird work in the reno area. he was low key and had the rare trait of not beating his own drum too hard (a somewhat rare trait in falconers). to those that had the pleasure of his acquaintance he will be missed. It is my thought that falconers never really die they just go to hell and regroup.
jim

[MitchellBrad]

Bill was one of those guys you could not help but like. i met him some years ago while doing some bird work in the reno area. he was low key and had the rare trait of not beating his own drum too hard (a somewhat rare trait in falconers). to those that had the pleasure of his acquaintance he will be missed. It is my thought that falconers never really die they just go to hell and regroup.
jim

What a shame. I never met him but did correspond and talked to him on the phone several times. Several months ago David Jamieson told me he wasn't doing well. Here is the last thing Shinners sent me via email.

I had to edit this because Shinners was full of stories about falconry and beach trapping. The fun part is when he told a story I happened to know half or more of the players.

Brad

[California Native]

We loose NAFA's First Vice-President
Bill (Will) Shinners, 74, and NAFA's first Vice President passed away peacefully at his home last Saturday in Reno, Nevada. In addition to serving as NAFA's first Vice President, Bill hosted the first NAFA field meet at his home during the Thanksgiving weekend of 1962.

A more complete obit and details of his accomplishments will appear in the December HC and at the Field Meet Banquet in Alamosa.

Few have written here about Bill Shinners. It is likely that most who knew Bill are not members of the IFF. Sad in a way because there are many who could describe Bills life.
My wife and I met Bill in August of 1964 on a drive to British Columbia to meet Frank Beebe. I had seen his name listed among the members list for NAFA. We stopped in Reno, Nevada where he was living. Called and learned he was asleep and would be up later in the morning. Bill worked at the Nugget Casino in Sparks, Nevada at the time and was a pit boss.
We arrived at his home on " Shinners Lane ", not sure if he lived on this lane because of his family or what ? Bill lived in a two story home with a staircase coming down into the living room. We were invited inside to sit in the living room and wait for Bill to come down. He had not been up long. When he appeared coming down the staircase, he was all groomed, black hair slicked down like Errol Flynn the movie actor and dressed in stylish pajamas, and silk robe and leather slippers. He carried a perkolator coffee pot in one hand and a nice coffee cup in the other. He was gracious and friendly. It is this picture I have when I think of Bill. He could have easily been a male model or movie actor with his good looks and dress. It was a good visit with an interesting man. We spoke of our trip to meet Frank and Bill suggested we go to Portland, Oregon on the way and meet Larry Schramm. Larry was the first man in North America to breed peregrines in North America. Bill also suggested we stop in Surrey B. C. and meet George Galice. George was also one of the early falconers who was in bird abatement back then.
We left Reno on the remainder of our trip and I did not know then that we would not see Bill again for over 43 years. I often asked about him when his name came up, but our lives did not cross again until just before he passed away. Dave Jamieson, Steve Baptiste, Frank Ely and I visited Bill. He was just as friendly as I had remembered him all those years earlier. I now feel fortunate that we saw him one last time. Bill was Dave Jamieson's mentor and friend of Steve Baptiste. There was a whole life lived in those years that we did not see him. I wish I had made more of an effort to continue on with Bill. I liked him.

Rest in peace Bill

Dan Fenske
Harrisburg, oregon