John Robert Shields, former professor of agricultural economics, passed away peacefully on Wednesday, Feb. 7, after a lengthy battle with prostate cancer. A celebration of his life at the Smittcamp Alumni House on March 9, 3 - 5 p.m.

After graduating from San Francisco State University he joined the Peace Corps as part of the first group of volunteers in Botswana after Independence in 1966 where he met his wife, Elizabeth, a British volunteer. He later continued work as a volunteer in Turkey where they were married.

After graduate school at Michigan State, John joined the faculty at Fresno State in 1978, where he was a professor of agricultural economics for 31 years. He was active in faculty governance on the Academic Senate at the university and state level. He chaired the University Academic Policy and Planning Committee and the University’s Accreditation Committee in 2003-2004. His teaching was enriched by participation in international projects in Botswana and Armenia, and by a three year staff position with the Board for International Food and Agricultural Development in Washington D.C.

He spent his retirement assisting with the Emeriti and Retirees Association at Fresno State and traveling the world with his wife and friends. He is survived by his wife, Elizabeth, their daughter Lisa Kathryn Fletcher, her husband Brian and four grandchildren, Benito, Jackson, Samuel and Penelope.

The family requests that in lieu of flowers memorial tributes may be made to the Ag One Foundation in the Jordan College of Agricultural Sciences and Technology or to the Study Abroad Program in Continuing and Global Education.