October 16, 2022 – Hartford, WI – There was a funeral this past week at St. Kilian Catholic Church in Hartford for one of the first NFL players from Washington County, WI. John Shinners went on to play for the New Orleans Saints, Baltimore Colts, and Cincinnati Bengals. Word is, a representative from each NFL team was in attendance at the funeral Friday in Hartford., WI. Shinners obituary, courtesy Stokes, Prock & Mundt Funeral Chapel, is below.
John J.T. Shinners, 75, passed away October 2, 2022 in Green Bay, Wisconsin. John was born on March 1, 1947 to parents John J. and Leocadia Shinners of Hartford, Wisconsin.
John spent his early years running around Hartford, spending time at Pike Lake, the Hartford Golf Club and any sports field available. He attended Campion High School in Prairie du Chien for four years before heading to Xavier University in Cincinnati, Ohio.
John was selected in the first round of the 1969 AFL-NFL draft by the New Orleans Saints, where he spent two seasons. He started off 1972 with the Baltimore Colts before being traded mid-season to the Cincinnati Bengals and finished his professional career with the Bengals in 1977.
He played in nearly 100 games during his nine-year NFL career. During this time, John lived part of the year in Cincinnati and the other part in Hartford working with his father at the Hartford Times Press and then Shinners Publications.
John spent the majority of his career after the NFL running Shinners Publications. He was very involved with the NFL Alumni and his entrepreneurial spirit had him interested in many different aspects of business. There was never time for grass to grow under his feet.
In his later years, John loved spending time with his youngest son Maddax and attending as many of his activities as his health allowed.
John is survived by his son Maddax Shinners, daughter Julie (Scott) Larsen, daughter Becky (Jon) Sweeten and son John T. Shinners, six grandchildren and his four sisters, Maureen Mitchell, Sharon Brock, Liz Poole and Eileen (Cos) Shinners. Further survived by many nieces, nephews, other relatives and friends.
A Catholic Mass will be held in John’s honor at St. Kilian Catholic Church on Friday, October 14, 2022 at 11 a.m. in Hartford, WI. Mass will be immediately followed by a celebration of life at the Hartford Golf Club. We would love to remember the good times, so come with stories to share.
The family requests that in lieu of flowers, donations in John’s memory be sent to the NFL Alumni Assistance Fund https://givebutter.com/4SKWgn
