John A Shillinglaw died on May 10th, 2025 at the Brookdale Memory Community in Valparaiso, Indiana. He was born in New Hampton, Iowa on September 13th, 1942, son of Leonard and Frances Shillinglaw. He married the former Fawn Pechman of Kaukauna, Wisconsin. She preceded him in death on September 19th, 2011.
He was educated at Cornell College and Washington University. He maintained an ophthalmology practice in downtown Appleton, Wisconsin until his retirement. He had a deep appreciation of the outdoors and dedicated a great deal of his life to the protection and stewardship of natural resources. He participated in myriad groups related to this passion. A focus of his later years was the creation of the Mecan Prairie in central Wisconsin, home to a large population of Karner blue butterflies.
He is survived by his sons Kirk and Craig, daughters-in-law Gweneth Shillinglaw and Kristina Parker, grandchildren Jake, Anna, Ella, Henry, and Emmet, brother Tom Shillinglaw, and sister Susan Shillinglaw.
No funeral service will be held. Contributions in John's memory may be sent to the North Central Conservancy Trust.
GUESTBOOK
Condolences to the family and friends of this lovely man. I met John through North Central Conservancy Trust, when he proudly led a tour of his beautiful restored prairie and savannah. He went above-and-beyond to ensure the land was protected, even beyond his lifetime. An inspiration and a good soul! -Nichole Good
I offer my deepest condolences to John's family and friends. I got to know John through North Central Conservancy Trust, with whom he placed a conservation easement preserving his beautifully restored Mecan Prairie forever. John was dedicated to stewarding the land he loved, so much so that he established a fund with the Natural Resources Foundation and NCCT to manage the prairie beyond his lifetime. John led many tours of his land and educated many about how important it is to conserve our natural landscapes now and for future generations. I greatly enjoyed my conversations with him; he was a kind, generous and thoughtful soul who will be sorely missed. -Janet Smith
I will forever treasure every minute I had with John. He wasn't in my life long but he quickly became a great friend and a source of constant encouragement. Relatively late in my life I decided, with no experience, to create a prairie. No matter who I sought advice from I was asked if I know John. I didn't then but set out to try and meet him, the Godfather of prairies, and see if he would give me some guidance. John certainly did that and a whole lot more. He couldn't do enough to help me grow and develop a Waushara County prairie. He took me under his wing and freely shared his history, knowledge, plans and concerns. You made the world a better place John. Thank you! -Richard Hansen
