Deacon John “Jack” Shuster III (86) of Olney 

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Deacon John “Jack” Shuster III, age 86, of Olney, passed away on November 17, 2025, at Good Samaritan Hospital in Vincennes, Indiana.

Jack was born on April 30, 1939, the son of John K. and Hazel Rue (Crouse) Shuster, Jr. in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 10:30 AM – Tuesday, November 25, 2025, at Saint Joseph Catholic Church in Olney, Illinois. A visitation for family and friends will be held from 5:00 to 7:00 PM on Monday, November 24, 2025, and from 9:00 to 10:00 AM on Tuesday, November 25, 2025, at the Meyer Funeral Home in Olney, Illinois prior to mass.

In loving memory of Deacon Jack, memorials may be made to Saint Joseph Catholic Church or Saint Joseph Catholic School.

The obituary can be viewed and condolences left at www.meyerfh.com.

Jack married the love of his life Regina Ann Carrigan on April 26, 1974, at St. Kevin Catholic Church in Springfield, PA and she survives. Jack was a Deacon in the Roman Catholic Church for 30 years. He joined the Air National Guard out of high school and loved it so much he decided to join the Air Force. He served two tours in Vietnam first as an enlisted airman. At the end of his first tour, the Air Force brought him back from Vietnam, put him through officer training, and sent him back for his second tour as head of a medical flight crew doing aero-medical evacuation. He left the Air Force in 1968. Jack worked as a Radio Announcer and creative director for various radio stations across the country including Hawaii. While at WHWH in Princeton, he won a CLIO (like an Academy Award but for advertising) for a commercial he helped write and produce. He retired from radio and became a Psychiatric Social Worker for the state of Hawaii for 20 years, retiring for the second time in 2007. During his time with the State of Hawaii, he was responsible for establishing several clinics throughout the island which made psychiatric services more available to the residents. Jack had a passion for local theater groups, participating in many productions over the years in New Jersey, Hawaii, New Mexico and even here in Olney shortly after arriving here. His ability to do just about any accent you could name served him well in those endeavors. He was involved in the Boy Scouts from the time he was 9 years old and served both professionally for a time and as a volunteer for 70 plus years. Jack was also involved in Rotary in each state where he lived including the Rotary Club of Richland County.

Jack was the type of person who, if he saw a need in the community, just dove right in to fill it. In his town in New Jersey there was no Girl Scout Troop for his daughter’s age group, so he started one. Yes, he was a Girl Scout Father. When he moved to Hawaii, he was instrumental in expanding the Boy Scout presence in Kona. He also helped start the Knights of Columbus Council at his parish and has remained active through his time in New Mexico and Illinois. He joined the Navy League in Kona, a group which supports the military families who are stationed at Barber’s Point, Kaneohe and Pearl Harbor. Because of his love for scouting, several of the members suggested that he check out the Naval Sea Cadet Program for young people. Once exposed to the program, he became a firm believer and started a Naval Sea Cadet Group for Kona where he proceeded to establish an annual two-week “Boot Camp” involving Naval personnel from all the bases on Oahu. The cadets trained on weapons with the Seals, kayak sea rescue with the Marines and “Leakin’ Lena”, a team building exercise, with the Submariners among other things like rappelling. He arranged for them to sail Family Cruises on subs and ships to shadow the various jobs. The teenagers who completed Naval Sea Cadets training could enter the Navy at a pay grade higher than others who joined. Kona is where he discovered Cowboy Action Shooting and fell in love with its ethic and the competitions. When he moved to Ruidoso, New Mexico, home of Billy the Kid and the Lincoln County Trade Wars, he was surprised to learn that they had no local Cowboy Action Shooting group, so he started the Lincoln County Regulators. Combining his love for the cowboy way and his love for coffee, he started the Kona Cowboy Coffee Company. He also started a Fire Auxiliary there when he saw the need to help out with food procurement and any other assistance the Fire Fighters might require, especially in an area plagued by wildfires.

All the while Jack’s service to the church as a Deacon was a priority. In Hawaii he served at St Michael’s Catholic Church along with its mission churches: St. Paul’s in Ho nalo; Immaculate Conception in Holualoa; Holy Rosary in Kalaoa and St. Peter by the Sea in Kahaluu. In New Mexico he was initially assigned to serve the St. Joseph Apache Mission on the Mescalero Indian Reservation. When the Franciscans who served the Mission had to turn it over to the diocese of Las Cruces, there was no priest on most Sundays or for sacraments so Jack conducted three communion services most weekends in addition to Baptisms, Marriages and Funerals for the Mescalero Apaches for more than a year until a priest could be assigned. After that, he was assigned to St. Eleanor Catholic Church in Ruidoso. Here in Olney, Jack served as one of the Deacons for St. Joseph Catholic Church where he conducted the Bible Study each week.

Jack is survived by his wife Regina Shuster of Olney, Illinois and Daughter, Cindi Garrison of Flora, Illinois