Gregory Tyler Shafe's Obituary
Please join us on April 22nd, to celebrate the life of Gregory Tyler Shafe, loving son, brother, father, and husband. He is survived by his parents Marc and Karen Shafe, his brother Sgt Geoffrey Shafe, sister Gillian Barker, wife Margaret Shafe, stepdaughter Marlowe, and one year old daughter Sydona.
Greg succumbed to a gunshot wound to the head he sustained on February 19, 2024, while on base at Fort Riley, Kansas. He was pronounced dead on February 20, 2024. He and his wife, stepdaughter, and daughter lived in on base housing since Greg was stationed at Fort Riley after reupping in the Army with the plan to attend OCS. He was originally slated to deploy to Poland with his new squadron when his wife had to be hospitalized due to complications with her pregnancy. Greg stayed at Margaret’s side while she was hospitalized in Kansas City for the remainder of her pregnancy and Sydona’s stay in NICU. Greg loved his family very much and Sydona was Greg’s pride and joy. She was truly a daddy’s girl.
Greg was born on April 18, 1988, in Tucson, Arizona.
He attended several different elementary schools including schools in Omaha, NE, Council Bluffs, IA, and Oro Valley, AZ as his parents moved around quite a bit while Greg was growing up. He attended Cross Middle School in Oro Valley, AZ. Greg attended three different high schools in Florida, primarily due to rezoning requirements, Ridgeview High School, Fleming Island High School, and graduating from Bishop John Snyder High School in May 2006. While attending high school Greg excelled at sports, especially football and baseball. He won Baseball MVP both his Junior and Senior years and football MVP his Senior year. He was awarded several college scholarships and accepted the scholarship at Dana University in Blair, NE as it would promising that he could play both football and baseball. However, due to illness and injury he left Dana during his sophomore year and moved to Marana, AZ to live with his family and where he could rest and get back to health. In May 2011, Greg followed his younger brother’s lead by joining the Arizona Army National Guard. He attended his basic training at Fort Jackson, South Carolina followed by AIT at Fort Gordon in Georgia where he trained as a computer specialist. After almost 18 months of training, he returned to Arizona.
In 2013, Greg was hired by the State of Arizona as a State Correctional Office. He attended eight weeks of intense training at COTA, the Correctional Officer Training Academy, in Tucson, AZ. After graduation he was assigned duty in the Echo Unit at the state prison in Tucson. In 2015, he resigned to go back to college at Arizona State University in Tempe, AZ and continuing his service in the AZ National Guard. It was at ASU that Greg was able to continue his love of football by joining their intramural flag football program. It was long after that Greg lead the team the championship played at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, CA. Due to the high cost of attending ASU, he decided to transfer to the University of Nebraska in Lincoln. There he studied broadcast journalism, earning his Bachelor of Science in May 2021. While attending UNL, Greg played intramural flag football, earning All American Honors in both 2018 and 2019 and twice winning league championships with his team, going on to win the Big 10 Regional Championships and continuing on to participate in Nationals held in Florida for both the 2018 and 2019 seasons. He was quite proud of having his name on championship banners at both ASU and UNL.
While attending UNL Greg also worked both as a Campus Dormitory Resident Assistant and as an armed security officer at General Dynamics. It is at General Dynamics where Greg met his future wife, Margaret Sebek. After dating for well over a year, the couple was married in Girard, KS in July 2022 and soon after moved to Fort Riley where Greg was to be stationed.
Funeral services will be held at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church located at 109 E 9th Street, Pittsburg, KS 66762. Viewing will begin at 9:30 am followed by a Rosary at 10 am and Mass at 10:30 am. The internment will take place at 12:30 pm at the Fort Scott National Cemetery, 900 E National Ave, Fort Scott, KS 66701. A reception will be held in Greg’s honor at 2:00 pm at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church.
What’s your fondest memory of Gregory?
What’s a lesson you learned from Gregory?
Share a story where Gregory's kindness touched your heart.
Describe a day with Gregory you’ll never forget.
How did Gregory make you smile?
