Scott Shawver: A successful life well-lived

The Great American Success Story can be defined as finding your passion, sacrificing greatly to achieve your goals, working hard to become the best, taking pride in your work, creating jobs, treating people with respect and earning a good living while sharing the wealth with your community.

And if we're lucky - very fortunate, actually - we know someone who fits this description.

Scott Shawver was a success by anyone's definition. After building a business and friendships for more than two decades, last year he started over. In May he opened a new state-of-the-art auto body facility in Post Falls. Every time we'd see each other - at the grocery, at the bank or at a community event - the excitement of this new venture was evident. He told me he felt like an 18-year-old, a little scared about a new leap but grateful to have the opportunity at this point in his life to be living his passion. Scott was a car guy, a gear-head, an artist in a paint booth, a businessman, a job creator and a friend to many, perhaps many more than he ever realized.

Since Saturday, with the news of his drowning on Lake Coeur d'Alene, a community's collective heart has been broken. Scott Shawver was one of the good guys. A genuinely decent human being, a smile and a hug or a handshake to everyone. What always impressed me about Scott was his gratitude. He was grateful for the success he'd achieved, humble in his many accomplishments.

While we grieve, I'll keep close the memories of being blessed to know such a man, of how joyful he was to have the wind in his face as he drove a boat filled with us gals up the river every summer. I'll remember how he loved the lake and living life to the fullest. Into the sunset, sweet friend.

On July 8, Megan Ownbey's water broke in her fifth month of pregnancy and she has been at Deaconess Medical Center in Spokane since then. The Ownbey's son, Jackson, is due on Oct. 6 but currently he's just a wee 2 pounds, 4 ounces in utero. James and Megan have a 2-year-old daughter, Ella, who's sure missing her mama.

The young family are longtime Post Falls residents, well-known in the community and now facing some financial hardship with the loss of Megan's income and James traveling back and forth to the hospital. On Thursday at the annual Post Falls Community Picnic, there will be a donation jar for anyone wishing to make a contribution.

Come have a barbecue dinner with the Post Falls Community Volunteers and dance to Kelly Hughes and his band. Great night to celebrate summer and make a real difference for the Ownbeys, too. The dinner is at 6 p.m. at Q'emiln Park. If you'd like to make a donation to the family you can mail or drop a check, made out to Ownbey, at the Post Falls Chamber, 201 E. Fourth Ave, Post Falls.

This year's free annual customer appreciation and community support event at Center Target Sports has a lofty goal: to surpass 2013 event totals. Last year in just five hours the shooting community donated 7,500 pounds of food for the Post Falls Food Bank, four large totes of toys for the Marines' Toys for Tots and 71 units of blood for the Inland Northwest Blood Bank. Time: 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday.

It’s class reunion season and Mary Williams tells of a different kind school reunion this Saturday from 10 a.m. to noon. This alumni gathering will be at the home of Sharon (Schultz) Wick and is for principals, teachers, aides, custodians ... anyone who worked at Seltice Elementary School since it opened in 1973. Principals through the years at the school include the late Larry Looney,Dave Diment, Jim Hammond, Joe Mirich, Dave Urbanac, Pam Francis, Sigrid Brannan, Bill Ramich, Mike Uphusand Barney Brewton. For info contact Sharon (Schultz) Wick, 666-0811 or 659-2052.

Happy birthday today to Tracey Fouche, Brenda Smith, Rick Marshall, James Fulton, Shirleen Jacobs, Christine Maiani, Kelli Aiken and Tom Wood.

The same tomorrow to Bill Kinder, Cindi Wimmer, Greg Delavan, Bob Nonini, Billie Collins and Dan Dahl.

Celebrating on 8/8 are Roberta Larsen, Sara Meyer, Jodi Anderson, Eli Yates, Kent Means, Virginia Griggs, Jim Hollingsworth, Jennifer Bokma and Patty Collins.

Saturday birthdays belong to Anne Anderson, Terry Morris, Jack Havens, Kyle Patterson and Christian Strailman.

Jeff Grundon shares an Aug. 9 birthday with Caryl Johnston, Sydney Sales, Jeremy Morris and John Hammon.

Monday birthday girls are Ann Seddon, Phyllis Berry, Erin Valente and Edith Uhl.

Taking another trip around the sun Tuesday are Joe Paisley, Jennifer Pitts, Ed Collins, Claudia Hurt, Roger Satefiel, Ronda Nash, Mariah Silva and Nevaeh Witherspoon.

Kerri Rankin Thoreson is a member of the National Society of Newspaper Columnists and the former publisher of the Post Falls Tribune. She was voted Best Local Writer for 2013 by the readers of the North Idaho Business Journal. Main Street appears every Wednesday in The Press and Kerri can be contacted on Facebook or via email mainstreet@cdapress.com. Follow her on Twitter @kerrithoreson.