Classmates remember Powers with gravestoneby Mary Le Arneal Shane Powers was a friendly guy. In high school he was a Homecoming candidate, on the Sweetheart court, played football, track and basketball and was in NB Club. One classmate said he’d talk to everyone and make them feel special.
Powers graduated from North Bend Central in 1997 and started working at a transmission shop where he stayed for 23 years until his health forced him to change course. Shane battled cancer and other health problems, but his mental health was what got him. He was found dead from an alcohol overdose at his home in March 2023. His Corrine (Arneal) Giggee remembers visiting with Powers at their 15-year class reunion. He did
not attend the 25th reunion in 2022. “When I heard that Shane had passed, I was shocked and sad,” Giggee said. “It had been 11 years since I had seen him. I had followed him on Facebook, but eventually his page was silent.” Sherrie (Chromy) Van Slyke, who was president of the Class of ‘97, set up a Facebook page in 2023 with the first entry being about Shane’s. Six hundred dollars was collected for flowers and a memorial. A number of classmates went to the funeral. In August 2024 Giggee got a text from her brother, Nathan Arneal. He had spent a lot of time in the cemetery preparing for the Heritage Trail for the centennial Old Settlers. He noticed that Powers had no gravestone. His resting spot was marked only by a plastic placeholder in the ground, one that would not last for long. “Everyone needs a final marker,” Arneal wrote in the text.
Giggee reached out to Powers’s sister Misti Daugherty, a 1995 NBC graduate, and she was supportive of getting a tombstone for her brother. After Shane’s medical bills, his family ended up paying for the funeral with nothing left for a tombstone. Giggee researched several local monument companies and decided they needed to raise $1,300 for a simple headstone that would match the other nearby markers of his dad and grandparents. A message was put out on the class of ‘97 Facebook page and the call was answered. “We were making progress but still shy of the goal,” Giggee said. “Neil Kitt then approached me and asked if he could share my original post. That’s when the floodgates opened. “I was blown away. It touched my heart the generosity of North Bend Central alums. At the same time, I wondered if Shane knew exactly to the extent he had touched people’s lives. Several people commented that they would cover whatever cost was leftover to ensure Shane’s memory would have a permanent marker.” Within a few days the goal had been surpassed. Daugherty and her son Masyn designed the headstone. Michelle (Elofson) Wilkins, another ‘97 classmate, reached out saying her neighbor, Tom Milacek, happened to be the owner of Milacek Monument Company. He was willing to donate the stone if the engraving was paid for. It was too good of an offer to pass up, so the decision was made and Shane’s permanent marker was placed in the Powers family plot in Woodland Cemetery in January 2025. But that was not the end to the Shane Powers giving. Thanks to donations given by the Class of 1997 and other NBC alumni, and the generosity of one businessman, more than $1,800 was left over. Daughtery and Giggee discussed what to do with the funds and thought it would make sense to make a donation in Shane’s honor at NBC. Daugherty requested that it be focused on mental health and suicide prevention. They reached out to Brandi Arneal, Giggee's sister-in-law, who worked at ESU2 supporting mental health in area high schools. She brought the topic up to the mental health team that coordinates support of students and crisis response. It was decided that the funds would be best used to bring in a speaker for the high school promoting mental health.
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