S. Scott Shina

S. Scott Shina passed away on Wednesday, May 2nd, 2018 peacefully in his sleep. He was born in Louisville, Kentucky on November 8th, 1967 to Dr. Hassi and Jo Sue ("JoJo") Shina and graduated from Ballard High School in 1985. From his toddler years, Scott was a creator with a great imagination, a sharp wit and amazing talent in the performing arts. He started acting right from Barrett Middle School and continued to perform at Ballard in drum solos, Madrigals and quirky musical pieces at the Ballard Showcase as well as modeling for Bacons Department Store. Scott went on to achieve his B.A. in Theater Arts (Acting) from Hanover College in 1991 where he met his teacher, Tom Evans, who would become his mentor and long-term friend. After graduation, he joined Actor's Theater of Louisville as an Apprentice - a coveted spot for acting graduates.

Scott was fearless with a zest for life and chasing his dreams. After college, he packed his bags and moved to Los Angeles to be close to the action. He took odd jobs on the sets of movies to connect with people, to learn everything possible and to become part of the community. He later moved to Manhattan where he honed his skills further and landed local and national TV commercials as well as parts in long-running TV shows. He loved stage acting and traveled to perform in various productions. Throughout his life, Scott was known to brighten a room and make people laugh - at themselves, at the world and at each other. He joined an improv comedy troupe in the city and put smiles on the faces of people from around the globe. To quote some of his friends who miss him dearly, "Shina was funny, sweet & a bag of delicious trouble." "He was a true life force who could change the barometric pressure of a room just by walking into it."

Scott had also established himself as a top-rated voice over artist and audio book narrator. His amazing talent for voices put his audio books on a different level. He loved learning about his characters and creating the perfect voices to bring them to life without the aid of the screen. His best known audio book is Everything is Illuminated by Jonathan Safran Foer. In more recent years, he had moved back to Louisville and spent time caring for his mother and doing the things he loved - reading a good book, working the daily crosswords and making people laugh.

Left to honor his memory are his mother, his brother Dr. Mark Shina, his four sisters, Nadia Shina Ker, Lydia Shina, Mindy Shina and Rebekkah Kumar, as well as his six nieces and nephews, aunts, uncles, cousins and friends. He is preceded in death by his father, his brother Eric and his aunt, Violette Shina.

Memorial visitation will be held on Saturday, June 2, 2018 from 10 a.m. until 12 noon, with a memorial service to follow at 12 noon at Newcomer Cremations, Funerals and Receptions, East Louisville Chapel (235 Juneau Drive Louisville, KY 40243).

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made in Scott's name to Actors Theatre of Louisville (to donate online, visit ), or to Hanover College.

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