Jeffrey Shields

Jeffrey J. Shields, 60, of Viroqua, died Monday, November 2, 2015. Please join Kristine Solverson and Jeffs family to celebrate Jeffs life at 4 pm, Wednesday, November 11, 2015 in the Fellowship Hall at Good Shephard Lutheran Church in Viroqua. Bring stories and food to share in a potluck and join local musicians with music Local artisan baker Jeff Shields (60) died on Monday Nov 2 after a long struggle with cancer. Tochko Bakery provided bread for the farmers markets and the local Co-op. "He was surrounded by friends and family. There were ten of us at his bedside," brother Fred Shields said. For the last 8 years Jeff Shields was a familiar man about town, with his open smile, pressed shirts, and community-minded entrepreneurial ways. "He was effervescent. Jeff had an energy about him that you could feel," according to the morning coffee klatch. Jeffrey John Shields was born August 5, 1955 in Elgin, Illinois the fifth and youngest child of management consultant John Burkhard Shields and homemaker and bank teller Josephine Helen Kolenda Shields. He grew up in Palatine, IL and in West Hartford CT where he graduated from Buckley High. He joined Brother Fred in Chicago working for the Continental Coffee Company, and later became a professional interior decorator. He again joined Brother Fred in Haines, Alaska in 1981 where he founded the Haines Street Car Company. In Haines he was also a radio announcer, small business owner and president of the Chamber of Commerce. In 2004 Shields and then partner Robin Mari left Haines and took a road trip in search of the ideal place to live. "They toured the country to find happiness," Fred said. Jeff tried towns in Maine, Michigan, Texas, and Washington before settling in Viroqua, attracted by organic food and a simple life. Niece Melina Shields said her uncle had a good sense of humor, and like her father, enjoyed practical jokes. "They both were responsible for a lot of explosions. I remember one time they turned Jeffs kitchen black and it took three days to clean the soot out." When she attended liberal Bennington College in Vermont, Jeff and Fred came for parents weekend. They were mistakenly identified as Melinas gay parents and they ran with it. "Jeff thought it was hilarious," Melina said. All kidding aside, Fred said he most admired his brothers "very strong" moral compass. "Jeff could be relied upon to tell the truth, and he would walk away from a situation rather than do the wrong thing." Fred said. "Jeff always had an idea for something new to try or how to make something betterthere was always something on the burner." Fred added. Shields was an excellent cook who had fifty feet of shelves dedicated to cookbooks. He turned his passion for baking bread into Tochko Bakery naming it after a Polish great-grandmother. "Jeff was particularly proud of his sourdough rye," Fred said. "People traveled from all over the state to buy his bread." "Jeff was a person who had strong beliefs in many things and pursued his ideas in a way most people could not understand," friend Ken Seright said. He recalled a recent phone call. "Jeff was always concerned about Nancy's (Seright) daily intake of Diet Coke and continually harangued her about it. During their conversation, Nancy mentioned she was sipping on her daily Diet Coke. Jeff immediately replied in his weakened voice, ' Nancy, I told you that stuff will kill you'. At that, a good laugh followed." Jeff Shields leaves partner Christy Solverson, brothers Jack and Frank in Illinois, Fred in Alaska and sister Sarah in Connecticut. A memorial potluck will be held at the Good Shepard Lutheran Church Fellowship Hall in Viroqua on Wednesday Nov 11 starting at 4 pm. Online condolences may be offered at www.VossFH.com The Vosseteig-Larson Funeral Home of Viroqua is serving the family.