Shirer Family Genealogy Project

Shirer Family Genealogy Project - Person Page 114

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James Donald Shirer¹

Male, b. 28 January 1909, d. 13 July 1983, #114

Father

Roy Henry Shirer b. 7 September 1881, d. 30 May 1968

Mother

Elta Grace Stanton b. 8 February 1883, d. 7 July 1978

Pop-up Pedigree

Occupation*

Electronics Engineer, Policeman (Chief 20 years)

Note*

Don, as he was known, was named for his Uncle, Dr James G. Shirer. He was a musician and had his own band in his 20's. He continued to enjoy playing the organ and always enjoyed playing for Masonic events. He was an avid Radio buff and was a HAM radio operator all his life a hobby he started in his teens. He was an active member of the Radio Relay League and in his life had established communication with every country in the world. He was also a FreeMason reaching the 32nd Degree belonging to a number of orders of the Scottish and York Rite.

He was the Chief of Police in Olmsted Falls, OH, for twenty years. He also worked as a quality control manager at Hickock Electric, as an Industrial Designer and Security Administrator for Designers for Industry, at Victoreen Instruments, at several steel companies, and for a while ran a sporting goods and radio repair store, all while maintaing his police duties. He had been a professional musician in his youth playing many instruments and directed a band on the old RKO vaudeville circuit. He had also worked for the Municipal Auditorium in Cleveland as an electrical engineer before moving to Olmsted Falls.

Before becoming the Chiref of Police, he commuted between Lakewood and Olmsted and held three jobs there, Street Supervisor, Building Inspector and Traffic Patrolman. In 1940 the laws were changed allowing mayors to appoint police positions and the office of Chief of Police which was a lifetime position unless malfeasance of office could be proved. In 1940 Don was appointed Marshall of the Village of Olmsted Falls. In 1958 the Village Council held meetings and accused Don of malfeasance by submitting a false report. Don took the Village to court and it was proven that their allegations had no basis in truth and he was exonorated of all charges and reinstated to his position and paid all back wages for the 14 months he was denied. He retired from office in 1961.

While working for D.F.I., Don and a friend W. R. Durrett, worked on three frequency standards for the Redstone Arsenal in Alabama and one of those, the Model H Frequency standard, would become the basis for the 400 Cycle Reference for the Power Supply of the Saturn Booster Rocket for the Apollo Space Program. It was a well built design as there were never any failures in that rocket. They also worked on what would become the proper set of specifications for torpedoes for the Navy's Bureau of Ordinance & Gunnery.

During the war, Don served as a Commander for the Coast Guard Auxiliary and was stationed for many months on Makinac Island in upper Michigan. To further his effectiveness as Chief of Police, Don also had training at the Fort Halibird Intelligence School of the US Army and in the office of Civil Defense and Mobilization at Battle Creek, Michigan. This training allowed him to bring new scientific methods like finger printing and photographic techniques and lie detection to help detect crime and enforce law and order.

In the 50's Don was a passenger on a train that derailed in northwestern Ohio, killing several people and injuring hundreds more. Despite his own injuries he took it upon himself to help rescue many people from the carnage. At his own peril, he lifted a set of railroad car trucks off someone who was pinned beneath them. These trucks weighed over 500 hundred pounds. Because of this he had back problems the rest of his life. While in the hospital, his doctor was the infamous Dr. Sam Shephard.

After retirement, he and Dorothy moved to Canton, OH to be near their son Dennis and his family. He died from complications of Cancer in Aultman Hospital in Canton.

Birth*

28 January 1909

Newark, Licking Co., OH^1,2

Baptism

11 July 1909

Second Presbyterian Church, Newark, Licking Co., OH¹

Census

1920

1920 Federal Census, Ohio, Summit County, Akron, Ward 1, ED: 129, Series: T625, Roll: 1437, Page: 163A, January 13
Sheet 11A, 809 Chalker Rd.
(enumerated with father, Roy H. Shirer)
43, 249, 187, Shirer, Donald, Son, , , M, W, 10, S, , , , Yes, Yes, Yes, Ohio, Ohio, Ohio, Yes, None, , ,³

Census*

1930

1930 Federal Census, Ohio, Cuyahoga County, Lakewood, Ward 2 (Tract L. W. II), ED: 18-643, Series: T625, Roll: 1437, Page: 24A, April 5
Sheet 6A, 2131 Olive Ave.
(enumerated with father, Roy Shirer)
001, 119, 147, Shirer, Donald, Son, , , , , M, W, 21, S, , No, Yes, Ohio, Ohio, Ohio, , 59, , , , , Yes, Musician, Dance Orchestra, 827V, W, No, 1A-11, , ,
⁴

Marriage*

14 June 1930

Lakewood, Cuyahoga Co., OH, Cuyahoga Co., OH Probate Marriage Record:
DOROTHY HARVEY (Key 0205856066)
JAMES D SHIRER (Key 0302854560)
Vol 0161, Page 0411

Name: James D Shirer
Titles and Terms:
Event Type: Marriage
Event Date: 14 Jun 1930
Event Place: Cuyahoga, Ohio, United States
Age: 21
Birth Date:
Birth Year (Estimated): 1909
Birthplace:
Father's Name: Roy H Shirer
Father's Titles and Terms:
Mother's Name: Elda G Stanton
Mother's Titles and Terms:
Spouse's Name: Dorothy Harvey
Spouse's Titles and Terms:
Spouse's Age: 21
Spouse's Birth Year (Estimated): 1909
Spouse's Birthplace:
Spouse's Father's Name: William G Harvey
Spouse's Father's Titles and Terms:
Spouse's Mother's Name: Johanna Scheggert
Spouse's Mother's Titles and Terms:
Reference ID:
GS Film Number: 1901662
Digital Folder Number: 004731973
Image Number: 00213
Citing this Record: "Ohio, County Marriages, 1789-1994,"
https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/K3G4-LRV : accessed 20 Feb 2014, Principal=Dorothy Elinor Harvey^5,6

Census

1940

1940 Federal Census, Ohio, Cuyahoga County, Lakewood, ED: 18-186, Series: T627, Roll: 3054, Page: 9A, April 2
Sheet 9A, 2131 Olive Ave
(enumerated with father, Roy H Shirer)
15, 343, , , , ,Shirer, James D, Son, , M, W, 31, M, No, H4, 59, Ohio, 30, Same House, , , , , No, Yes, No, -, -, 2, , v2, Asst Sup Safety Insp, Servicing Project, GW, 318|06|2, 52, 1320, No,⁷

Census

1950

1950 Federal Census, Ohio, Cuyahoga, Olmsted Township, Olmsted Falls Village, ED: 18-211, Series: T628, Roll: 0, Page: 29, April 1
7642 Columbia Road
22, 288, No, No, , Shirer, James D, Head, , W, M, 41, Mar, 0, , , Wk, , , , 40, Production Inspector, Electrical Instruments, P, 690|367|1
23, 288, No, No, , Shirer, Dorothy E, Wife, , W, F, 41, Mar, 0, , , H, No, No, No, , , , ,
24, 288, No, No, , Shirer, David H, Son, , W, M, 16, Nev, 0, , , Ot, No, No, No, , , , ,
25, 288, No, No, , Shirer, Douglas O, Son, , W, M, 7, Nev, 0, , , , , , , , , , ,
24, 288, No, No, , Shirer, Dale A, Son, , W, M, 3, Nev, 0, , , , , , , , , , ,⁸

SSN*

July 1983

James SHIRER
Birth Date: 28 Jan 1909
Death Date: Jul 1983
Social Security Number: 294-01-2067
State or Territory Where Number Was Issued: Ohio
Death Residence Localities
ZIP Code: 44706
Localities: Richville, Stark, Ohio⁹

Death*

13 July 1983

Canton, Stark Co., OH

News/Obit*

14 July 1983

Obituary,

SHIRER, J. Donald, age 74, of 6101 Fairacres, SW, Canton, passed away Wednesday morning in Aultman Hospital. He had been in failing health for the past four months. Born in Newark, OH, he came to Canton in 1978 from Olmsted Falls, OH. He was a retired member of the Olmsted Falls Police Dept., having served as their Chief for 21 years. He was a member of the Olmsted Falls Community Church, Olmsted Falls Lodge #705 F&AM, Scottish Rite Valley of Canton, York Rite and Subordinate Bodies, Al Koran Shrine, Lorain FOP. A well known ham radio operator, he carried the handle "DOC" on call letters W-8-QBF. Member of the Quarter Century Radio Club, past Commander of the Coast Guard Auxiliary, member of Perry Grange, Order of the Amaranth and Olmsted Falls Order of Eastern Star. Survivors include his wife, Mrs. Dorothy E. Shirer of the home, to whom he was married 53 years on June 14th, five sons, Donald L. Shirer of Tucson, AZ, David H. Shirer of Tacoma, WA, Douglas O. Shirer of Federal Way, WA, Dale A. Shirer of Rocky River, OH and Dennis S. Shirer of Canton; nine grandchildren, one great-granddaughter. Services will be conducted Saturday at 2:30 p.m in the Reed Funeral Home. Following cremation, there will be a memorial service in Olmsted Falls Community Church ( time and date to be announced later). Calling hours in the funeral home Friday 7-9 p.m. Perry Grange will hold services Friday at 6:45 p.m.

(Reed 477-6721)

Appeared in Canton Repository, Thursday, July 14, 1983

^1,10

News/Obit

16 July 1983

J. Donald Shirer,
ex-Olmsted Falls chief

J. Donald Shirer, former police chief of Olmsted Falls, died Wednesday of heart failure at Aultman Hospital in Canton. He was 74.

Shirer resigned in 1961 after servinf 22 years as chief to work as a senior engineer of Morse Signal Devices Inc.

In 1958, the Olmsted Falls Council fired Shirer because it said he was guilty of filing a false report in a drunken driving case. Cuyahoga Common Pleas Court resored Shirer to duty after ruling the council's decision "irregular and lacking in due process of the law."

He later worked as a salesman for Vitamix Corp. in Olmsted before he retired in 1970.

Mr. Shirer is survived by his wife, Dorothy E., sons, Donald L., David H., Douglas O., Dale A. and Dennis S., nine grandchildren and one great-granddaughter.

Services will be at 2:30 p.m. today at Reed funeral home, 705, Raff Rd., Canton.

Appeared in the Cleveland Plain Dealer, Saturday, 16 July 1983

¹¹

Burial*

after 16 July 1983

WA, Donald's ashes were scattered on Mt. Ranier in Washington State, a place he much liked.

Family

Dorothy Elinor Harvey b. 17 September 1908, d. 6 November 2004

Marriage*

14 June 1930