Support John Sheild's Legacy

For over forty years, John Sheild lovingly planted, tended, and harvested the beautiful vegetable gardens at the entrance of San Damiano Park, a quiet sanctuary he helped bring to life and generously shared with our community.

You can keep it flourishing, carrying on his legacy, with a gift in support of the gardens and park stewardship.

In 1981, John and his wife Jean settled into their Monona home. Shortly after, a neighbor, Len Riha, who had connections with the priests at what was then the San Damiano Friary, invited John to help start a garden on the property. The two became gardening partners and friends, working side-by-side until Len's passing in 2019. From then on, John tended the garden alone.

To John, gardening was more than just planting and harvesting. It was spiritual work, a reminder of growth, responsibility, and gratitude. “Working in the garden felt like coming home,” he once said. "Gardening teaches the miracle of growth, the responsibility of work, and to never take anything for granted.”

John passed away in early 2025 at the age of 94, but his spirit of generosity, humility, and care lives on. The John Sheild Memorial Fund was originally established to support a future tribute in his honor, one that reflects the values he lived by and the life he gave so humbly to others.

This year, with the help of a group of committed volunteers, we are reactivating the gardens in John’s name, ensuring his legacy of growing fresh food onsite continues for years to come. John once said, “Everybody can do a little bit. And when you add little bits together, big things happen.”

As John did, produce harvested in 2026 will be available for free onsite as well as donated to St. Stephen’s Food Pantry in Monona.