Submitted by: Dan Rich

Brother Carl J. Shonk CSC

May 26, 1933 - April 1, 2003

South Bend Tribune 4/4/2003

Brother Carl Shonk, C.S.C., 69, died after a lengthy battle with heart disease in Mt. Sinai/St. Francis Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, Miami, Fla. Br. Carl was born on May 26, 1933, in Lancaster, Ohio, the son of the late Paul E. and Anna (Sullivan) Shonk, one of seven children, of whom a brother, David, of Omaha, Neb., and a sister, Eileen, of Bowling Green, Ohio, survive.

He did his elementary and secondary schooling in Lancaster, Mt. Sterling and Columbus, Ohio.

He received the habit of the Brothers of Holy Cross on Feb. 1, 1953, at Rolling Prairie, Ind., pronounced his first vows a year later, and his perpetual vows on Aug. 16, 1957. After completing undergraduate studies at the University of Notre Dame in 1957, he was assigned to the Holy Cross Missions in Dhaka, Bangladesh, until 1960. From 1961-65 he taught at Cathedral High School, Indianapolis, Ind., and from 1965-69 at Archbishop Hoban High School, Akron, Ohio. From 1969-74 he was, successively, teacher, principal and headmaster at Gilmour Academy, Gates Mills, Ohio, and from 1975-78 directed the middle school there. After a year's study sabbatical, Br. Carl began teaching in 1979 at LaSalle-Immaculata High School, Miami, where he remained on the staff until illness forced his retirement in 2000. For several years during the same time he was English department chairman at the high school and adjunct professor of English at Barry University, Miami.

Besides earning a master's in English at Notre Dame in 1964, Br. Carl did additional graduate studies at Ohio State University, the University of Iowa, John Carroll University, Fairfield University, Akron University, St. Mary's College (Calif.), Webster College, Dayton University and Cleveland State University. His administrative knowledge and expertise were often sought in secondary school and English department evaluations for such organizations as the North Central Association and the Southern Association.

Br. Carl, an outstanding teacher of English, was publicly honored as such in 2000 by his school. His reputation as a popular but demanding teacher despite periodic health difficulties was enhanced by his outgoing personality, his ever-present, even at times ebullient sense of humor, his love of life and its celebrations, his professional competence, and his total dedication to the growth and development of his students.

A wake service is scheduled in Florida before the funeral at Notre Dame. Visitation here will be from 1:30 to 3 p.m. Monday, April 7, in St. Joseph Chapel, the Brothers' Holy Cross Village at Notre Dame, 54515 State Road 933 North. A Mass of the Resurrection will follow, with burial immediately afterward at St. Joseph's Cemetery on the village grounds. The Kaniewski Funeral Home is handling arrangements.