Dave ’77 and Jeannine Shiveley
By Annie Rosello ’94
Retired Navy Captain and Flight Surgeon Dave Shiveley ’77 spent more than 30 years caring for naval aviators and their families. But his decades of military service were prefaced by years of community service and volunteerism, which Dave says started at Saint Michael’s and inspired him and his wife, Jeannine, to make a generous legacy gift to the College.
“I joined the Fire and Rescue Squad and was immediately indoctrinated into what it was like to unselfishly come to the aid and rescue of those in need,” explains Dave, who spent his summers at Saint Michael’s to help keep the squad manned with a skeleton crew. “We all felt this was a small sacrifice, not being with family and friends at home, in exchange for the good will we brought to people’s lives and the good will we brought to the community.”
As Captain of the Rescue Squad his senior year, Dave has “no doubt the volunteer experience and life lessons that I learned at an early age—including compassion, loyalty, trust, adaptability and faith, among others—set me up for success in the future.”
Dave went on to receive his medical degree from St. George’s University School of Medicine in Grenada in 1982 and completed his internship in internal medicine at Mount Sinai Hospital in Hartford, Connecticut, in 1983.
That same year, he was commissioned in the Navy and commenced active duty. One of the highlights of Dave’s long and interesting career, which has taken him and Jeannine around the world, was serving as Chief Executive Agent for Global Patient Movement at the Department of Defense. How ironic that Dave started with a “small” patient movement system, Saint Michael’s Rescue Squad, and ended up managing the largest airborne patient movement system on the planet.
Grateful for the strong foundation he received and fond memories he holds from his time at Saint Michael’s, Dave and Jeannine recently decided to make a legacy gift of $1,000,000 through their Living Trust.
“We realized we were blessed to have the resources to provide a number of scholarships to academically deserving high school students who otherwise couldn’t afford the cost of higher education,” he explained. “We felt this was an important service to Saint Michael’s and the kids who will benefit, since we firmly believe education is the key to economic and social freedom. Who knows—maybe some of these students will catch the service and volunteerism ‘bug’ that I did at Saint Michael’s.”
Shiveley treasured learning from favorite professors, including Dr. Arthur Hessler for biology and Dr. Dominique Casavant for physics, both of whom always looked over his shoulder with encouragement. He also idolized Fire and Rescue founder Don Sutton, “the most wonderful life mentor and father figure to many of us,” who dedicated almost half his life to Saint Michael’s.
While Dave laughs about his fond memories of skiing, tubing down the Winooski River, rappelling in the Gorge, and ‘socializing’ at the Last Chance and Hannibul’s, he and Jeannine know that their generosity may very well create similar happy memories, tremendous opportunities, important mentors, and a lifelong sense of service that propels future Purple Knights to fulfill the Saint Michael’s vision: Do Well and Do Good.
Leading by example, Dave and Jeannine Shiveley have certainly lived out that maxim to the fullest.
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