Richard Lee Shover

Richard Lee Shover
July 11, 1930 - January 16, 2021 

Richard Lee Shover died peacefully in the early morning on January 16, 2021 in Michigan City, IN. Known to all, including his children and grandchildren, as “Dick,” he lived and died on his own terms, with agency and curiosity.  

Dick was born on July 11, 1930, and raised in Harrisburg, PA by parents Elmer and Myrtle Stouffer Shover. After graduating from John Harris High School in 1948, he served in the United States Marine Corps for three years, serving as a heavy mortar unit leader and forward observer during the Korean War before receiving an Honorable Discharge in 1953. According to family lore (this story has not been independently verified), during his time in the Marines, he experienced a 6-inch growth spurt after a long-needed tonsillectomy, a leap that served him well when he was discharged and took to the basketball court as a forward at Lebanon Valley College, where he successfully integrated the agility of a short man with the physical dominance of a tall one. Thanks to the G.I. Bill, in 1957 he graduated cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts in English and Philosophy. He earned a Master of Arts in Writing from Johns Hopkins University in 1958, two weeks before the birth of the second of his four children.

He spent his career as a labor relations manager at the Bethlehem Steel Corporation. He was based first in Steelton, PA before moving his young family to Michigan City in 1964 to work at the Burns Harbor plant and finally returning to Pennsylvania in 1988, where he worked at the corporate office in Bethlehem until his retirement. Dick was highly valued by his colleagues at Bethlehem Steel and United Steelworkers; one current USW International Executive Board leader who worked with Dick in Burns Harbor reflected, upon hearing of his death, “Dick was well respected, he was someone we could work with and he had integrity and credibility.” 

Dick is preceded in death by his sister, Anita Sowers, and wife, Leslee Cole Shover. He is survived by children Sean Shover (Olie), Laurie Hughes (Roger), Leath Barnett, and Tom Shover (Jeanette Scott); grandchildren Erika Schmidt and Abagael May and their father Andrew Schmidt.

Throughout his life, Dick was fascinated by the great and varied questions of the universe. 

As a student at Lebanon Valley College, Dick chose for his yearbook entry the following verse from the English writer and politician Joseph Addision: 

“Should the whole frame of nature round him break,
In ruin and confusion hurled,
He, unconcerned, would hear the mighty crack,
And stand secure amidst a falling world.”

The Shover family would like to express their heartfelt gratitude to Roe Holth, Erin Elliot, and the communities at Home Instead and Dunes Hospice in Michigan City for their compassionate and thorough care of Dick at the end of his life. In lieu of flowers, please send donations to Arise & Shine Food and Outreach Centers; donations can be made via PayPal at <https://www.ariseandshinefaoc.com/>.

No services will be conducted. The Ott/Haverstock Funeral Chapel, Michigan City, IN is handling arrangements.    

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