AUSTINTOWN -- It has been 20 years since Stanley and Patti Hunt Shearer's lives were turned upside

AUSTINTOWN -- It has been 20 years since Stanley and Patti Hunt Shearer's lives were turned upside down, but they landed on their feet and have a successful Northwestern Mutual Financial Network office as proof.
In the wee hours of July 31, 1982, Shearer, working as an independent truck driver, had stopped for a bite to eat in Kansas. As he returned to his rig, three men drove up beside him, and the men began exchanging words with Shearer.
Shearer said things happened so fast he never really understood what the motivation for the encounter was, but one of the men stabbed him repeatedly. He wound up in the hospital with critical wounds requiring three hours of surgery.
He pulled through but returned to a Mahoning Valley that had its economy devastated by the closing of the steel mills.
Shearer was self-employed, so he could not collect unemployment benefits. He did have a $20,000 whole life insurance policy with Northwestern Mutual that had a waiver-of-premium clause that kicked in during disability.
Became an agent
The Shearers contacted David Longacre, who was their Northwestern Mutual agent. Not only did Longacre assure the Shearers that their premium would be paid, he also managed to persuade Shearer to become a Northwestern Mutual agent.
"I took a job that paid nothing. It was straight commission. As a matter of fact, it still is," he said with a laugh. Longacre is now living in Scottsdale, Ariz.
Shearer started working out of the couple's Idaho Road home, but by 1983 he was ready to move the operation to a Mahoning Avenue office.
In 1985, gasoline leaked from tanks at a nearby gas station and poured into Shearer's office. He was out of town, so it was up to Mrs. Shearer to move the entire office into their home on North Canfield-Niles Road.
The home-office arrangement continued until 1991 when they moved to a home in Canfield and transformed the former house into all offices.
"I didn't care where we moved as long as it was within three miles of the office. We put in such long hours, so I want to be close to home," Mrs. Shearer said.
"We do what it takes to get it done," Shearer said. "We treat our clients like we like to be treated, and many of them have become our friends. We go to each other's family weddings, funerals and graduations."
Shearer sells life and disability insurance along with annuities and long-term care insurance.
"One of the things we have the ability to do is keep it simple and help our customers understand the complicated insurance industry," he said.
Mrs. Shearer complimented the staff. She and her husband have three full-time and two part-time employees.