Obituary of Bill Shipley

Bill D. Shipley, 61, passed away November 20th, 2020. He was born January 24th, 1959, in Corning, Iowa, the son of Malcolm A. and Emma Jeanne (March) Shipley. He grew up on the farm in the Nodaway, Iowa with his family and 3 brothers. He enjoyed wonderful childhood memories there raising sheep, hogs, and cattle. He enjoyed hunting, trapping, and fishing and anything to do with the outdoors throughout his entire life. Bill graduated from Villisca High School, Class of 1977. As a child he was active in cub scouts and Boy Scouts. He played football, trumpet, and tuba in the band along with being very active in the Reno Smith FFA Chapter. He was especially proud of his FFA Conduct of Meetings team which received a Gold at State competition. He received his Iowa FFA Farmer Degree in 1977. Following high school graduation, he attended Southwestern Community College and graduated with a degree in Farm Management. After college, he married his high school sweetheart, Diane (Herzberg) Shipley, and they settled just north of Nodaway, Iowa and shortly after moved to the house and farm they still reside in today. They celebrated 38 years of marriage in August. Married Aug. 14, 1982. Bill and Diane raised their family on the farm north of Nodaway. They were blessed with three children: Kyle, Alyssa, and Trever. With Bill’s help and encouragement all three kids were in FFA and Adams County 4H with many livestock projects. Bill received the Adams County Young Farmer’s Award in 1997. Bill was a very active member of the community and served as the Adams County Soil and Water Conservation District Commissioner for 19 years, serving as Chairman from 2002 to 2017, and became Vice Chair 2017 to current. He also was an Adams County Conservation Board member holding all the offices over the 12 years he served. He was instrumental in building the cabins, cottages and new shop at Lake Icaria and other improvements. He was a true conservationist. He was Director of District 7 on the Iowa Soybean Association board for 8 years and was President (2017) and President-elect (2016) and was currently an active board member. He was a leader and promoter of agriculture all over the world during this time and believed in the importance of establishing relationships with other countries as he hosted and toured many different groups from other countries, traveled extensively, making friends all over the world. He was also an active member of the Mt. Calvary Lutheran Church and served as officer and elder there, in addition to being an active member of the FFA Alumni at Villisca. Bill was the Nodaway Cemetery Manager/Caretaker for 15 years, past Nodaway Fireman, United Mercantile Coop Board member, Blue jay Booster’s Club, Pork Producers, Adams County Fair Board and countless other area board and committees over the years. Bill started his lifelong pursuit and passion of farming in 1979 in the Nodaway area. He helped many local farmers while growing his own operation. His operation grew to encompass hogs, corn, soybeans, cattle, and hay as well, in addition to providing custom work for local area farmers including his family. He took over the Pioneer Seed Dealership from his father and sold Pioneer seed for many years. Bill continued to expand and grow his operation over the decades, by being a savvy businessman and farmer, and eventually was able to include his sons Trever for the past 10 years and Kyle in more recent years, who both had developed a strong passion for agriculture since they were little growing up on the farm helping their dad. He loved helping raise show pigs with his son Trever and was instrumental in all those successes at county, state, and national shows. He received the Iowa Farm Environmental Leader Award in July 2016 for his conservation practices on his farms, as he was dedicated to farming the ground in a responsible and sustainable way, including being one of the very first area farmers to practice no-till farming in the early 90s in which we still do today. Bill was not only a great person, but a cherished husband, beloved father, and an awesome grandfather. He did everything with his kids, from braiding his daughter’s hair before school to helping the boys make their Boy Scout derby cars. You could guarantee to see Bill and Diane sitting together at every school function the kids participated in no matter what. He also supported his daughter’s interests in 4H, love of animals, and the arts. Bill recently spent a lot of his time dedicated to teaching his grandkids. He could never give enough ranger, combine and tractor rides. Always made time to take his kids fishing and carried on the tradition with the grandkids. He had many memories raising pigs and created many more with his son, Trever. With the two of them finding so much joy sharing the newly born piglets with the grandkids to get a bucketful of giggles. He also enjoyed driving his Dodge Challenger convertible from high school in the local parades. It was the car he drove when Bill and Diane went on their first date. He kept it all these years. He also was an avid Iowa State Cyclone football fan attending games with family and friends over the years. Bill was preceded in death by his father, Malcolm Shipley and his brothers, Dennis, and Donald Shipley. He is survived by his wife of 38 years, Diane (Herzberg) Shipley, his son, Kyle Allen Shipley and wife, Allison of Nodaway, with their three children, Hunter, Easton and Addison; daughter, Alyssa Marie (Shipley) Munstermann and her husband Matt of Pleasant Hill, Iowa, and their two daughters, Haddie and Wyn; son Trever William Shipley of Villisca; his mother, Emma Jeanne Shipley, of Nodaway, IA; brothers, Tom Shipley of Nodaway, IA; Clifford (Vicki) Shipley of St. Joseph, IL; and Leland (Amy) Shipley of Nodaway, IA: his father-in-law and mother-in-law Darrel and Mavis Herzberg; brother-in-law Chris (Jami) Herzberg of Charlotte, NC; brother-in-law Steve (Kristen) Herzberg of Ankeny, IA and many other nieces, nephews, cousins, and friends. A service in Celebration of Life will be held at a later date in the Spring.