Shirley Shannon

Shirley Shannon, 81, of Langdon, ND, passed away June 1, 2019, at Sanford Hospital in Fargo, ND.

Shirley was born March 6, 1938, in Thief River Falls, MN, to Ray and Lila (Bakken) Martinson. She married James Shannon on September 25, 1954 in Thief River Falls. Shirley worked at Cavalier County Memorial Hospital for many years in several positions: CNA, purchasing, and more. By the time she retired, she had already developed her own upholstery business.  It wasn’t uncommon for her to arrive home and discover someone had dropped off a piece of furniture to be recovered.  She discovered knitting machines and used them to make washcloths (which are treasured by many!), sweaters and embellished sweatshirts (which she sold from West Virginia to Alaska), mittens, and so much more. Her next “toy” was a small embroidery machine which she used to decorate most of her jeans and squares that she used in quilts. That was so much fun that she got a larger machine in order to make larger projects! 

She made quilts for many years, mainly for her family. She was always available for her family, whether they lived locally or at a distance.  Her “toys” and her shop allowed her to express her creativity.  There were more projects than there were years. 

Shirley was a courageous woman who never shied away from trying something new.  With a ladder and a handsaw, she and her sister removed a 30’ tall evergreen tree.  She decided to renovate her home and chose to do the majority of the work herself – from demolishing down to the studs to taping and texturing walls; she learned what she needed to know.  She delighted in her independence.

She is survived by her daughters: Virginia (Rick) Schanz, Brenda (Dennis) Strong, and Wanda (Curtis) Coulthart; grandchildren: Darrick, Bryan (Heather), and Kristina (Andrew), Patricia (Tyler) and Natasha, Daisy (Charles), Marc, and Christopher; great-grandchildren: Faith, Piper, Ariana, Mataya, Shali, Carsyn, Zachary, Hannah, Johnathan, Cameron, Jordyn, Cedric, JaVarien, Jayden, and Jasmine; and great-great-granddaughter Hadley. She was preceded in death by her husband James, son David, and great-grandson Samuel.

A memorial service will be held at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, July 27, 2019, at Emmanuel Evangelical Church in Langdon.