In Memory of Jane B. Shingleton

Good Afternoon.   My name is Dean Parisian.   I am humbled and honored to speak today and to you Bruce,  to Brad, to Cathy, Betty, and Susan and to your spouses and your children, as we all are, I’m saddened by your  loss.

 When I go to Websters and look up the word “CHIEF” it describes one who is of high rank,  and of great influence.   Make no mistake, the world is less one Chief today.  But there are other places in the dictionary we might find words to describe the Chief.  For sure, we might see a picture of Jane next to the words, TOUGH and OPTIMISTIC!

By profession I am a money manager.  By birth I am a member of the MN Chippewa Tribe.  Over 20 years ago I was introduced to Dr. Bill and Jane Shingleton.  They made the decision to hire me and to entrust to me the financial legacy of the Shingleton family.   

In working with Jane I encountered the same issues many of you encountered.   When I would call,    the first order of business was to get her to turn down the volume on  CNBC.    

Over the years my admiration and respect for her only grew.  She was always so incredibly tough.   What were to be 15 minute phone calls were usually an hour.   I had no crystal ball and my impeccable track record of being 100% unable to predict the future only magnified things!     And the questions, the questions  never ceased.  We will never forget the questions.

As many of you know, and this may elicit a chuckle,  Jane was as concerned with the 2 digits in her accounts to the right of the decimal point as she was in the 7 digits to the left of the decimal point.     In my work,  she often wanted me to make phone calls on her behalf.  Her requests usually went something like this,  “Dean, You tell them that you are calling for Jane Shingleton and that she wants something done and she wants it done RIGHT NOW.”  For Jane, It was always,  Right Now.  There was no time for tomorrow when it could be done today.

I have never met a successful pessimist and  Jane  was truly an optimist.  She believed.   She knew bad times wouldn’t last.   And Jane lived life.  She lived it large on the courts and on the golf course.  She loved a party, she wasn’t scared to dance.    She knew how to laugh.   She knew how to give.  Jane got things done.  She played to win.   So proud of all of her friends, so proud of all of her family.  Pride in her relationship with Duke, so happy in the mountains, she was, a Carolina girl.    

For MeMA’s grandchildren I will share a quote that she often shared with me.   Here it is.   “The truth will set you free but at first it will make you miserable”  If Jane were here today she would want me to provide a teaching moment,  so Jane this is for you. 

Part of growing older and maturing requires us to stare reality in the face and take a bite.  No one is always going to tell you the truth.  They are going to shade it and make it sound nice.  But what we need to hear is the truth, because it is the truth that sets us free.  Facing the truth can be painful and difficult.   Often we don’t like the truth.   We don’t want to admit that some of the problems in our lives were brought on by poor decisions. 

Jane,  was as truthful to me as she was to all of you.   She called it the way it was.  A spade was a spade.   MeMA lived the truth  and today she is truly free.

In looking around it is easy to recognize the tremendous personal legacy that Jane and Dr. Shingleton have left the world.  It’s obvious to see in their children the results of how much work Jane put into her family.  All of you,  are a testament to her,  to her great ambition, to her smarts and savvy, and to her love.  Jane was so proud of all of you, your accomplishments,  and always wanted nothing but the very best for each of you. 

The story of the personal legacy of the Chief and of Dr. Bill will continue.  Each page of the story will be written by the people in this room.  The story of the Shingleton family is not yet complete.  There is work to be done.  The Chief  would want it that way.

In closing, as the great Indian Chief, Chief Seattle said long ago,  “There is no death, only a change of worlds.”   Jane and Dr. Bill are together again and they left this world a much better place.   May God forever bless my friend, Jane Shingleton. 

Thank you.