What a blessing it is to know this wonderful Christian couple and to share with you a part of their stewardship story. They learned early in life that spiritual growth comes through service to Christ and His mission, and service involves time, talents and treasures.
Born in Florida, reared by Christian parents in Tennessee, Jan made her profession of faith and graduated from high school in Nashville. Stewardship of time, talents and treasures came naturally given her mother’s leadership in the church’s woman’s missionary union. Norris was born and reared by Christian parents and graduated from high school in Greenville, SC.
They met as students at Furman University and were married in 1964 at Nashville’s Woodmont Baptist Church by its pastor, G. Allen West, before they departed for Germany to serve Norris’ two years as an ROTC-commissioned officer. During this period in Germany they continued to be involved actively in church and served as Sunday school teachers. Norris is a U.S. Army retired Lt. Colonel. By the way, Dr. West became their family’s perpetual pastor and counselor in the ensuing years and has been an important influence in their stewardship journey.
Following military service, Norris’ entire career was in banking, having begun in Winston-Salem, NC, and served as the CFO of banks in Richmond, Charlottesville, VA and Louisville, KY. He thought he had retired when Fifth Third Bank bought Louisville’s Cumberland Savings Bank, but he was called back into action as president of Louisville’s First Bank from which he retired “for good.”
Jan’s career included being wife and mother, English antiques dealer and real estate. She enhanced her education through classes in business, fine arts and arts education.
Although they have been world travelers and involved in a variety of charitable organizations, their first loyalty has been to Christ and through their service at Louisville’s St. Matthews Baptist Church. Both have served in all the church’s leadership roles. In addition, Jan has served on the boards of the Kentucky Baptist Foundation, KBC, Baptist Healthcare System Foundation and Wayne Oates Institute. Norris also has served on a variety of boards, including the University of the Cumberlands, ElderServe and St. Anthony Hospital.
Their two married children are: Paul, III (Louisville) and Janell Caponecchi (Kansas City). Each has two children.
As Kingdom-minded stewards, Jan and Norris Shockley have and continue to demonstrate their love for Christ and His mission in this world, as well as their love for family, through their financial stewardship. They have taken seriously the biblical truths (a) that God owns all things, and they are His managers and (b) they are to honor Him with their “substance,” which includes both regular tithes and offerings of their income as well as over and above giving out of their assets.
With the assistance of our trust counsel, Laurie Valentine, the Shockley’s established an endowment with the KBF that will continue to provide a growing stream of financial support in perpetuity for the benefit of the mission and ministry of their church. They continue to make contributions to this fund.
Also, some years ago Norris and Jan established a short-term charitable remainder trust whereby the earnings were paid to their two children to assist them in financing their graduate studies. At the end of the term, the remainder of the trust assets was added to the endowment fund they had created for their church. As a way to maximize the timing and the tax advantages of donating appreciated assets, the Shockleys utilize a donor advised fund with the KBF from which distributions are made periodically to the charitable causes that are near and dear to their hearts.
Here’s how Jan and Norris described their involvement with the KBF staff: “We were raised in Christian families that taught the stewardship of time, talents and money was what God expected of us. When God blessed us with a financial benefit, we turned to the KBF because we were aware of its faith-based mission, competent staff and open, honest and proven reputation. They presented us with ways to provide for our children’s education, to help our church in a perpetual way and to benefit other nonprofit agencies. We were able to generate larger gifts because of the tax benefits derived from the gift ideas suggested by the KBF staff, who were knowledgeable professionals and able to explain clearly the different giving options.”
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