Donald L. Shaum Sr.

Donald L Shaum

April 27, 1943 -February 21, 2026

Donald L. Shaum, Sr., of Elkhart went to be with the Lord on Saturday, February 21, 2026.  He was surrounded by his loving family. Don was born April 27, 1943, in Goshen to the late Joseph and Kathern (Stump) Shaum. Graduating from Wakarusa High School where he had played basketball and ran track. Then he went through the apprenticeship training program from the Local Carpenters Union.

He married the love of his life, Nancy V. Masterton in Goshen on June 25, 1961. She survives along with their son, Donald (Jennifer) Shaum Jr. of Elkhart, and their daughter Donita

Sturgis of Lancaster, PA.; 8 grandchildren, Andrea (Josh) Milender of Vandalia, MI, Kate (Jesse)

Yoder of Bristol, Samantha (Jacob) Cripe of Goshen, Daniel (Brooke) Shaum of Bremen, Andrew Shaum of Goshen, Michelle (Daniel) Zumpano of Lynchburg VA, David Sturgis, and Summer Sturgis of Lancaster, PA. and 11 great-grandchildren. And a brother Gordon Shaum of Granger, IN.

Don was preceded in death by his parents,4 siblings- Gwendolyn Shaum, Thelma Havens, Clifford Shaum, Virginia Mawhorter and his son-in-law, Brian Sturgis.

As the owner of Mid-States Construction in Elkhart. He began with the company in 1975 when it started acting as their Field Superintendent for the entire company. Known for his hard work ethics and his “can do, let’s figure it out” attitude. It allowed to move into an ownership position several years later and ultimately into full ownership in 1994. Throughout his career he remained present at the job sites, doing whatever needed to be done to keep the company successful until he retired from the company in 2015 then continuing to enjoy being part of the crews.

Having gone big game hunting in places like Africa, Australia and Kazakhstan. He got to a point that he invested in gear that would allow him to extend his range to 800 yds. As he collected mounts from all over the world, he loved to show them to guests and discuss the “Thrill of the Hunt”.

Having owned and raised animals over his entire life beginning with horses and cows at the family homestead. He progressed to many exotic animals ranging from Zebras to Ibex and true Big Horn Sheep. He and Nancy loved the animals and tamed them by bottle feeding and giving them food by hand.

Lastly and most importantly he was a man of faith and had a heart for the LORD. Having a love for missions and missionaries he went on many working missions trips himself, oftentimes including family members and friends. One place in particular was a kids camp in Ephraim, Utah that he was frequently helping over many decades.  Some would say he was a generous man who blessed others without any fanfare.

Visitation will be Saturday, February 28th from 9-11 a.m. at First Baptist Church located at 53953 CR17 in Bristol, In. The funeral will follow at 11 a.m and burial will be afterward at Prairie Street Cemetery in Elkhart. Memorial contributions may be given to First Baptist Church for mission work.

Zimmerman Clouse Funeral home is entrusted with his care.

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