Emil M. “Mike” Shutak, age 86, a resident of Brookshire Dr., Bath, NC passed away Monday, November 18, 2013 at Vidant Beaufort Hospital. There will be a graveside celebration of his life, with full military honors, Thursday, November 21 at 11:00 AM in Oakdale Cemetery officiated by Curtis White. Fellow members of the Bath Ruritan Club will serve as pallbearers. The family will receive friends from 9:30 to 10:30 AM at Hillside Funeral Service & Cremations, 4500 Hwy 264 E., Washington, NC and travel in procession to the cemetery.

Mr. Shutak was born April 15, 1927 in Peckville, PA son of the late Michael and Anna Shutak. On June 30, 1951 he married the former Elsie Faye Wingate of Bath, NC, who preceded him in death on February 23, 2001. Mr. Shutak served 21 years in the United States Marine Corps as an enlisted member, chief warrant officer and commissioned officer. He saw combat action as a member of the First Marine Division in Korea, earning five battle stars and the Navy Commendation Medal. Following his retirement from the Marine Corps, he was selected by the U. S. Army to serve as the deputy chief of public affairs of the XVIII Airborne Corps and Fort Bragg, NC. While serving at Fort Bragg, he and his wife lived in Fayetteville, NC where she was a staff member at the Cumberland County Board of Elections. They maintained the Wingate family home in Bath throughout his military service and resided there on weekends and vacations. Following his retirement  after 24 years of Army civil service, they built their retirement home in 1990 on Bath Creek, where they resided until their deaths. Mr. Shutak was a magna cum laude graduate of North Carolina State University with a bachelor’s degree and master’s degree in education. Mr. Shutak attended the Bath Christian Church. He was a member of the Bath Ruritan Club and Goose Creek and St. Clair Hunting Clubs. He was a supporter of veterans activities in the greater Bath area and was affiliated with the Bayview Golf Club Senior Golfers Association. He also was on the board of directors of the Friends of the Bath Community Library.

Survivors include a son, Michael Shutak, II and his wife Barbara Lejman Shutak and a grandson, Michael Alexander Shutak.

In lieu of flowers the family requests for memorials to be made in Mike’s memory to the Bath Community Library, 100 Carteret St., Bath, NC 27808 or the Bath Christian Church, 107 S. Harding St., Bath, NC 27808.

You may share a memory with the family by visiting www.hillsidefuneralservice.com

Hillside Funeral Service & Cremations, 4500 Hwy 264 E, Washington, NC has been given the honor of being entrusted with serving the Shutak family.