Richard R. Shallberg ’54

    Dick died Feb. 18, 2023. 

He prepared at Baldwin High School in Birmingham, Mich. Dick majored in basic engineering, joined Colonial Club, and captained cross country. A first-class banjo player, he played with the Tigertown Five, Tiger Black Notes, and Roundhouse “8” bands — a lifetime avocation.

In August 1954, Dick married Lynn Ann Tunnicliffe and he expected that after two years as an officer in the Army, he would pursue a career in automobile manufacturing or sales. 

In 1959, after a few years with an engineering firm, he devoted himself to a career as a farmer. He was successful with ventures in Wisconsin and Florida, selling his produce, raising purebred Black Angus cattle, and culminating in dairy farming, maple-sugaring, and a blueberry operation in Vermont while continuing to play his banjo in Dixieland bands.

He and Ann eventually retired to Brookfield, Wis., to garden and travel. They visited every state and Canadian province, with all but Hawaii in an RV.

Ann, his wife of 52 years, died in 2006, and he married Aleen Mathews, who predeceased him. Dick moved to a Masonic retirement community in Dousman, Wis. At the time of his passing, despite his Parkinson’s, Dick still played his beloved banjo. 

Dick is survived by his daughters, Lynn Pyne and Laurie Sprano; sons Mark, Karl, and David; seven grandchildren; and one great-grandchild.