Obituary of William John Shand

William John "Bill" Shand, Jr., age 86, of Bloomington, MN, passed into the arms of his Lord & Savior on July 30, 2016. Bill was born in 1930 and raised in Minneapolis, MN. He attended De La Salle High School and then enlisted in the Navy. He served on the USS Dashiell as a torpedo man during the Korean conflict. When he returned home from military service he married his wife Barbara and had 8 children. He worked for the Minneapolis Star Tribune for many years, and served as business agent and president of Teamsters Local #638 until he retired. Bill had many hobbies and kept himself very busy building everything from furniture to small wooden animals. He had an innate ability to accomplish anything he put his mind to and he had many talents. He was a self-taught carpenter, electrician, welder and plumber. He was also a ham radio operator. One of his biggest projects was completely re-inventing a large school bus to become a camper on wheels, with all the comforts of home for his family of 10. Our family went on many summer adventures with our dad at the wheel. These trips will always be a source of some of our fondest memories with our dad. Bill is preceded in death by parents William Sr. and Margaret (Holmes), wife Barbara, sisters Patricia (Phelps) and Kathleen Shand. He is survived by his sister Jackie (King) and loving children Karen (Steve), Jean (Dan), Barb (Bob), Elizabeth, Joan (Glenn) Will (June), Mary (Will) and Sean (Sue); 19 grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren. Along with his family he leaves behind special friends Kelly and Brian. The family would like to give special thanks to the great staff at Breck Homes of Bloomington, the Fairview Hospice Team and the Veteran's Adult Day center for all of their loving care during his last years of life. In lieu of flowers, memorials preferred to the Mpls Veteran's Home Adult Day Center, 5101 Minnehaha Ave. South, Bldg #4, Minneapolis, MN 55417. Celebration of Life to be held Friday, August 5, 2016 at 11:00 a.m. with visitation one hour prior to the service. Cremation Society of MN, 7110 France Avenue So. Edina, MN. Private family burial.