Shriner’s philosophy was evident in a printed card he often would often carry. It read:
“A hundred years from now it will not matter what my bank account was,
 the sort of house I lived in or the kind of car I drove, but the world
may be different because I was important in the life of a child.”

He was the executive director of the Boys Club of
 Huntington when it was formed in 1958, the first
 such club established in West Virginia.

Named to the Huntington Wall of Fame, he was a teacher at Guyandotte
 Elementary and Oley Elementary and Junior High, a school counselor
at Oley and Huntington East, a coach and a job placement
coordinator until 1986 when he retired.

Retirement didn’t mean losing contact with youngsters for Shriner,
as he began welcoming the public to his elaborately decorated
 Southside home each year during the Christmas season.

Dubbed a “Christmas Wonderland” by students who visited from
 nearby Miller Elementary, his annual holiday open houses drew
 thousands of visitors, not just locally but from dozens
of states and even a few foreign countries.

Shriner died Sept. 17, 2001, at his home. He was 79 years old.