Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SUNDAY, September 3, 1995                   TAG: 9509050084
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: B3   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: LISA K. GARCIA
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Short

JOHN SHANK, EX-MAYOR OF SALEM, DIES AT 97

Shank, a Salem native, began his service on Town Council in 1946. He served 20 years as vice mayor and was mayor from 1964-68.

After his retirement as president of Salem Foundry & Machine Works and Salem Elevator Co., Shank took a job as a furniture sales representative. The job kept him on the road. It was for this reason that he decided not to run again for council in 1972 at age 74.

Salem became a city during Shank's years in office. Its population grew from 6,000 to 23,000. Shank voted for Salem to become a city and in his retirement said ``it was the right decision.''

A 1921 graduate of Virginia Tech and a World War I veteran, Shank also was active in the Shriners and the Salem Rotary Club.

He was elected elder emeritus in 1980 of Salem Presbyterian Church, where he was a lifelong member.