Hall of Fame
From the 1980-81 season through the 1983-84 season, Ms. Lenore Shimkus-Schell dominated on the basketball court under head coaches Clyde Horner and Jodi Gault. Ms. Shimkus-Schell closed out her career as a two-time American Women’s Sport Federation (AWSF) All-American and climbed as high as second on the Lady Cat All-Time Scoring List with nearly 1,500 points.
Ms. Schimkus-Schell, a native of Mahanoy City, Pa. and a graduate of Marion Catholic High School, made an immediate impact, by becoming an All-East Region selection as a freshman following the 1980-81 campaign.
Things continued to get even better as her Pitt-Johnstown career continued. Ms. Shimkus-Schell helped lead the Lady Cats to a No. 3 national ranking, a Great Lake Regional Championship, and a trip to the NCAA Division III National Quarterfinals in 1983-84.
In the process, she garnered her second straight AWSF All-America honor and was nominated for the Division II Champion Player of the Year Award.
Ms. Shimkus-Schell, the Most Valuable Player at both the Pitt-Johnstown Mountain Cat Classic and the Shippensburg University Tournament, closed out her outstanding Lady Cat career with 1,486 points, which ranked second behind only Pitt-Johnstown Hall of Famer Lisa Britt’s 1,945 points at the time of her graduation in 1984. Ms. Shimkus-Schell’s 1,486 points are still tied with Hall of Fame inductee Mindy Young-Gagliardi for seventh-place on the Lady Cat Scoring List.
After graduating with a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science, Ms. Shimkus-Schell left the Johnstown area and began her career in the financial data processing industry where she has served as a senior management executive with progressive experience in leadership development, systems development, operations, corporate development, and acquisition integration. Ms. Shimkus-Schell is currently employed as the Director of Operations for Direct Supply, the nation’s leading supplier of equipment and eCommerce systems to the Senior Living Industry, in Milwaukee, Wis.
Along with her profession career, Ms. Shimkus-Schell is a board member and the head of the marketing committee for Literacy Services of Wisconsin. In addition, she is an assistant high school varsity girls basketball coach and a junior high school basketball coach.
Ms. Shimkus-Schell has been married to her husband Dr. Joseph A. Schell, DDS, who she met while attending Pitt-Johnstown, for 28 years. The Schell’s have two grown children, Stephanie Suzanne-Schell (24) and Derek Allen Schell (22). Both children were former All-State basketball players who earned full collegiate basketball scholarships. The Schell’s reside in New Berlin, Wis.
“Being selected into the Pitt-Johnstown Athletics Hall of Fame is a special honor and privilege,” Ms. Shimkus-Schell said. “I feel very blessed and I am humbled by it. This would not be possible without the love and support of my family, coaches, and teammates.”
