A much loved son and brother, William "Bill" Alan Shanks, age 46, passed away unexpectedly from a heart attack at his home in Merrimac on May 30, 2019.  He was born Aug. 5, 1972 to Alan B. and Cynthia G. (Zielinski) Shanks.  As a young man Bill enjoyed growing up in the Lake Wisconsin and Merrimac area and was member of the Boy scouts.  He helped his parents and sisters run the Shanks Shanty Ice Cream stand at the Merrimac Ferry for many years.  Bill graduated from Sauk Prairie High School; class of 1991.  Following High School, Bill attended MATC in Madison and received training and certificates in Fire Safety 1 & 2 and was state certified first responder and CPR.  He was a former active member of the Merrimac Fire and Rescue.  Bill formerly worked at Devils Head, Milwaukee Valve, Teel Plastics, Farm and Fleet, McFarlane's and most recently was a caregiver for his father, Alan.  He had a love of animals and that was evident as he helped at the Sauk County Human Society and had two dogs of his own, Buddy and Poppy.  Bill enjoyed Sci-fi, comics, and playing video games; one of his highlights recently was meeting Stan Lee, a creator for Marvel Comics.  His bright smile and gentleness was shared with many and will be missed so very much.

He is survived by his son, Tyler of Portage; his dad, Alan of Merrimac; sister, Shellie (John) Benish Jr., and their two boys, Kyle and John III "JJ" of Lodi; niece Jamie (Chad) Reihbrandt and great niece, Alice; and faithful pups, Buddy and Poppy.  He is further survived by other relatives and friends.

Bill was preceded in death by his mom, Cindy Shanks on March 15, 2018 and his sister, Karen on Mar. 2, 2019.

A celebration of Bill's life will be held at 1:00 pm at the Merrimac Memorial Park on Saturday, June 29, 2019.  A private interment will be held at Oak Hill Cemetery.

Bill's family wishes to thank the first responders from the Merrimac Fire and Rescue, Sauk Prairie and Baraboo Ambulance, Sauk County Sheriff's Dept. and Hooverson Funeral Home.

"The Force is with you Jedi"