Vicky Lynn Shears, 65, of Morgantown, passed away at her residence Thursday, June 19, 2025.
A person’s obituary is, for most people, the only time their life’s story is told. I thought I’d write my own story.
I was born June 14, 1960, at a small country hospital in Bartow, the seventh child of Bernard Shears b. 17 August 1914; d. 11 April 1998; and Hazel Gillispie b. 1 Nov 1917; d. 13 March 2008. The doctor’s wife presented my mother with a wall plaque with three babies on it and a note of congratulations. I thought that was pretty neat.
After a long battle with cancer, I died June 19, 2025.
My siblings were always there for me. There are different relationships with each because of age differences. My siblings are Warren Shears b. 1941, wife Elizabeth; Wallace Shears b. 1942 d. 2014; Willard Shears b. 1944; George Shears b. 1946; Randall Shears b. 1950; and Charlotte Ervine b. 1952, husband Dewey Ervine.
I have enjoyed time spent with my nieces and neph-ews: Ron Shears, Lynette Shears Lang; Chelsea Shears Kirby; Cressie Shears, Sarah Shears, Joni Ervine, Clinton Ervine and Hazel Ann Ervine Helton. They are all such great people.
I don’t know what I would have done without my husband, Dan Doyle. I would have probably given up this cancer fight long ago. His mom and dad were also such good people and so accepting. I love Dan so much. We had so many wonderful times together, especially our adventures travelling throughout West Virginia, the U.S. and many other countries. If you know Dan, please support him during this tough time.
I loved growing up in Pocahontas County surrounded by my family and cousins. We worked hard but we made time to have fun as well. I loved going fishing with my dad, but we probably ate more chocolate covered peanuts than we caught fish. My dad and I had a sweet tooth but my mom did, too. My mother came across as a practical and plain-spoken woman but when asking her about growing up in poverty her later actions made sense. She could have taught a lot of mothers about parenting. She let me make my mistakes and learn from them and kept any criticism to a minimum. I loved spending time with my grandmother, Rosa McQuain Gillispie. She was a character. She also worked hard but loved to play.
When I was a teenager, I discovered I was decent at sports and so began summer softball, time at the tennis courts and playing volleyball on the Gillespie farm. What fun.
I had great teachers at Green Bank and Pocahontas High School. There wasn’t a teacher that I didn’t learn something from. I also don’t remember a lot of bullying or picking on each other. I’m sure it was there but I don’t remember it being excessive. In high school Title IX was just starting to change sports for women. I started playing basketball and Mom and Dad would be there in the stands watching.
I decided when I was going to college that I’d get a Physical Education degree. What I didn’t understand was I loved playing sports, but I didn’t want to teach sports or coach. I wanted to play. I don’t regret any class I took, and I always learned something. I took some additional business classes and they, in the long run, took me on a different career path. I graduated from Fairmont State College with a Bachelor of Arts in Education (Magna Cum Laude). While I was there, I joined the basketball team and played for one year but then switched to volleyball for three years. During the summer I hooked up with a local softball team in Fairmont. Two of the best coaches I ever had, and I played for many summers with a great group of ladies who were just good people and lots of fun.
After college, I worked at the US Department of Energy for 15 years. I didn’t like the work because it was too specialized and discovered I liked doing a lot of tasks. I had enough classes to sit for the CPA exam and so I started interviewing for jobs, but it became obvious firms didn’t want older workers. I also didn’t have an accounting degree, so I earned a Master’s Degree in Professional Accounting at WVU. The classes were so interesting and opened my eyes to how difficult it is to run businesses and furthered my knowledge in personal financial independence. I still had no success in job interviews except there was an office manager position with The Mountain Institute in Elkins. I had been involved with the non-profit WV Scenic Trails Association for many years doing trail work and serving in various officer positions. I love the work of non-profits and their public missions. I got the position and loved TMI.
The headquarters was in Washington DC, and they had not had a CFO for months and were behind in getting their accounting data into the accounting software. I convinced them to let me come to DC to get them caught up which they agreed to. It wasn’t very long before I got a call from the new CFO that she was leaving, and I was asked if I could come to DC and fill in. I agreed. TMI was close to bankruptcy. I stayed in the job for a while but the stress of finding enough cash to make payroll was too much.
I went out on my own for a couple of years. I had worked at the West Virginia legislature on my bucket list and I did that for two sessions.
Friends of Cheat after that was looking for an accountant. They had spent enough federal funds that they needed a specialized audit. Other non-profits I’ve enjoyed working with as a volunteer or board member were Friends of Deckers Creek, Literacy Volunteers of Mon and Preston County, and Community Educational Outreach Service (CEOS). I also enjoyed working for Allstar Ecology before I retired.
I got interested in family history in the ‘90s. A friend was lobbying hard for me to join DAR. Everyone should do their family history, not just names but whatever they can find that talks about their ancestors.
What you would discover is that my story is the story of American and world history. It is fascinating. The lineage organizations I joined and served as an officer were the Hagans-Evans Chapter DAR; the Monongalia Valley Chapter Daughters of American Colonists; The Daughters of 1812, Colonial Wars, and Colonial Indian Wars.
When I look back on what I’ve written here what strikes me again and again are all the good people that have touched my life, including my friends and neighbors in Morgantown. I love you.
To all the medical personnel at Mon General, thank you for your care for these past 10 years.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorial donations to be made to WV Scenic Trails Association, P O Box 4042, Charleston, WV 25364 or wvscenictrails.org
In accordance with Vicky’s wishes, Hastings Funeral Home/Omega Crematory will provide cremation service.
Burial will follow at the St. Paul’s Lutheran Church Cemetery in Chalk Hill, Pennsylvania, with her husband’s family and relatives.
The family thanks Hastings Funeral Home of Morgantown for their assistance in this difficult time. Please visit their website to share condolences and to obtain information on future celebrations of Vicky’s life at www.hastingsfuneralhome.com
