Susan Poff
Great person, husband, father, grandfather, and friend
James David Shillow Sr. "Jim" was my father. I couldn't have asked for a better father. He took very good care of his family and always tried to make us feel happy and loved while at the same time teaching us the values of hard work and respect. He was always ready and willing to help his loved ones and friends, and nothing made him happier than making people laugh and have fun. To know him was to love him. He was a peacemaker, and in the 42 years I knew him I can't remember him saying anything negative or mean about anyone. If he couldn't find something good to say about you (which he usually did), he didn't say anything at all. Jim loved to go on yearly vacations to Canada to fish, but he also took us to Safe Harbor Dam to fish also. When I was little, I got a new fishing rod and I put it through the grates on the floor. When I went in to the restrooms, he caught a fish and thought he's surprise me and he put the big fish he caught on my line. What he didn't know is that I was fishing through the grates because I didn't want my new fishing line to get dirty. He expected me to be so excited to catch a big one, and instead I said, "Who put that dirty fish on my new fishing line?!" Looking back, I feel so sorry I reacted that way when he went to such lengths to make me happy! Our family loved going to drive-in movies and even went to the all nighters there (from dusk to dawn). We would go on a Saturday night, come home and play Concentration with cards, go to church, and then come home and go to bed!!! He was also very good at wordworking. During his lifetime, he worked on the Pennsylvania Railroad (later PennCentral and then Conrail). He also worked as a real estate agent parttime. He was one of 8 children. He married Patricia Ann McDermott in 1949, and they had 3 children (Kathleen, Susan & James Jr.), 9 grandchildren, 11 great-grandchildren, and now 2 great great grandchildren.....all who move and miss him VERY MUCH!
