Obituaries: Capt. David C. Shearer and Capt. Frank W. Banta Sr.

Frank William Banta Sr., a longtime resident of Sunshine, La., passed away peacefully at his home September 6 at the age of 93.

Banta is survived by Dorella Bolotte Banta, his wife of 72 years; his sons Frank Jr. (Sandy) and Robert; his son-in-law Steve LaPlace; grandchildren Jessica Gulley, Robbie Banta, Chase LaPlace, Brooke Hays, Danielle Vincent and Mary Banta; and 10 great-grandchildren. Other surviving loved ones include his brother Merlin Banta and sister-in-law Marilyn, sister Janet Wilbert (Andrew), and Lisa K. Miller.

Preceding Banta in death were his parents, Wilson and Laura Burch Banta; daughter Genie LaPlace; son Jamie Banta; grandson Jared LaPlace; daughter-in-law Sarah Banta; his sisters and brothers-in-law, Doris and Elmer DeVeaux and Betty and Toby Gauthreaux; and his brother, Wilson “Sonny” Banta.

For Banta, faith was a cornerstone of his life, and he was a member of St. Gabriel Catholic Church, just downriver from Sunshine. A visitation and funeral Mass were held at St. Gabriel Church September 10.

From his earliest memories, Banta had a connection to the river industry. His father, J.W. Banta, worked for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and Standard Oil when Banta was a little boy. When his father started his own business in the 1940s, Banta and his brothers soon began to gain experience as mariners.

“In the summer vacations, we’d spend the whole three months of vacation working on the boat,” Banta said in a recent interview for The Waterways Journal. “And we weren’t on the payroll. We were just working.”

Banta’s first role was working in the engineroom of the mv. Anita D.

“They called me an engineer, but I wasn’t,” he said. “All I could do was start and stop the engine.”

The early 1950s brought two important milestones for Banta. In 1951, he married Dorella. Around that same time, he and two of his brothers started Plaquemine Towing Company. As Banta’s family grew, Dorella and their children would come with him aboard the mv. George W. Banta.

And just like when he was a boy, Banta put his boys to work from an early age.

“When did they start working for me?” he said. “When they were old enough to hold a ratchet.”

His son Frank Jr. launched his own company, Chem Carriers, in 1994, with Robert later joining the company as well. And while it had been a while since Banta piloted a towboat, his connection to the river and his family always remained, with his house directly adjacent to the Chem Carriers office and many family members living nearby.

Capt. David C. Shearer, 82, of Boonesborough, Ky., passed away August 27. He was a member of the prominent Shearer family that had owned O.F. Shearer & Sons River Transportation, which was sold to Indiana & Michigan Electric (AEP) in 1973. He was born on April 12, 1942, at Cedar Grove, W.Va., where the company had extensive operations. His father was the late Oliver C. Shearer, the eldest son of Capt. O.F. Shearer. Oliver and his younger brother, Capt. Bert Shearer, father of marine architect Ed Shearer, were both born on small towboats on the Kentucky River in the early 1900s.

David served in the U.S. Air Force before he began working in the family business full time and started in the pilothouse on the Green River. He later worked for several other companies on the Ohio and Mississippi rivers and did a lot of trip work following his retirement. He tripped on a regular basis for Madison Coal & Supply, now Amherst Madison. Alan Hall, recently retired vice president of operations for Amherst Madison, recalls that Capt. David Shearer was “a really great pilot that everyone liked working with.” Hall also said that, in addition to being jovial, Shearer didn’t beat around the bush and was direct when he had something on his mind to say.

Capt. Burt Slone, who worked with Shearer for some time on the mv. Mary Ellen Jones, said that Shearer was one of the most enjoyable people he had ever worked with. “The type of person you wish you had met 20 years before you did,” Slone said. When the crew jokingly called him “Papa Smurf” due to his signature blue jump suits and white beard and hair, Shearer started referring to himself as such.

Shearer loved the Kentucky River and was a charter member of the Boonesboro Boat Club. A Celebration of Life was held September 15 at the Waterfront Grill and Gathering in Boonesborough on the Kentucky River.