John Edward Shanahan (July 07, 1949 - April 24, 2017)

In loving memory of
John Edward Shanahan
  • July 07, 1949
  • -
  • April 24, 2017

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Obituary

Monday, April 24th, 2017 John Edward Shanahan passed away quietly at his home in DeLand, FL after fighting Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis for months. John was born in Manhattan on July, 7, 1949 to parents Beulah and Edward Shanahan. He was the oldest of five children. He spent his childhood in Flushing Meadows, Queens and Syosset, Long Island. At the age of nine he moved to Florida. He attended Bishop Moore High School where he served as Senior Class President and excelled as a swimmer.  After High School his love for reading and adventure led him to Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire where he spent some of the best years of his life.  Between organizing events as Social Chairman at the fraternity house and participating in the Dartmouth Outing Club, he managed to meet the love of his life, Martha Merrick. John spent those summers painting houses on Nantucket Island and pushing an ice cream truck up and down the hills of Seattle, his sense of adventure always fueling his next great story.

On August 26, 1972 he and Martha were married in Cleveland, OH.  The newlyweds lived in Manhattan where he pursued his MBA at Columbia University and began his career in banking and finance. In 1978 they moved to Scarsdale where they raised their four children, Michael, Merrick, Barbara and Sara. He took an early retirement from the banking business and as life sometimes does, it brought him a new challenge. Seeing the work that Martha was doing as a nurse piqued his interest and he began a second career as a psychiatric nurse serving adolescents.

He will be most remembered for his kind heart and open mind which served him well as a foundation for his life as a great defender of justice, loving people he met from all walks of life. He was always up for a new adventure, meeting friends and trying new foods. He loved his family above all else and seized every opportunity to be with them, be it camping or watching them play sports. He loved golfing, sunsets, music, dancing and long cruises on the pontoon boat. He regaled us all with his great storytelling, embellishments and all.  He will be forever membered and greatly missed.

“You don’t get to choose when you enter or leave this world, but you do choose what happens in between.”

“May the road rise up to meet you.

May the wind be always at your back.

May the sun shine warm upon your face.

And the rain fall soft upon your fields,

And until we meet again,

May God hold you

In the palm of his hand.”


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  1. Nicholas P. Episcopia says:
    01 Jun 2017
    Martha,
    I am so sorry to hear about John's passing. We worked together for several years. I am sure he will be missed very much by you your children and grandchildren. Dorothy and I will keep you in our prayers.

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