Marvyn Ernest Shannon

With great sadness, we announce the sudden passing of Marvyn Ernest Shannon at the age of 92 on May 10, 2025 at Lions Gate Hospital.

Marvyn was a beloved husband, father and grandfather. He was devoted to his wife, Joyce Shannon (nee Whitworth) through 62 years of marriage.

Born in Vancouver, Marvyn moved to North Vancouver with his family during World War II. His parents purchased and operated Shannon Taxi, serving the North Shore for 25 years. Marvyn graduated from North Vancouver High School in 1950. Marvyn was a precision machinist and design draughtsman for a number of years with Boyles Brothers Drilling, which became Westdrill. Upon Westdrill closing down, Marvyn leveraged his technical skills to start his own memorial marker business, Lions Gate Memorials, which he operated from his home in Blue Ridge, North Vancouver. At the same time, Marvyn worked for Connor’s Drilling of Kamloops, where, as a design draughtsman, he re-engineered diamond drill bits to drill for 3 times longer than others on the market. This saved time and money in the exploration near Kamloops that led to the establishment of the Afton copper mine. Marvyn was very proud to see his design in operation.

In his younger days, Marvyn was a model airplane enthusiast and a member of the Vancouver Gas Model Club. He won awards for his skillfully crafted, gas engine powered, flying models.

Marvyn was also an ardent sport fisherman, who enjoyed loading his family into the camper and heading off to fish for trout at Loon Lake in the Caribou and Shuswap Lake. He fished for Tyee salmon at Campbell River.

Marvyn is predeceased by his beautiful wife Joyce Margaret Shannon (nee Whitworth), beloved sister Shirley Olive Westfall, and brother-in-law Leonard Norman Westfall. Marvyn is survived by his brother George Edmond Shannon (Pilar Sison), daughters Cory Shannon (Jeff Schlingloff) and Sandra Miller (Mike Miller), grandsons Kevin Miller and Garrett Miller, nephews Ron Westfall (Wendy Moore) and Ken Westfall (Joan Westfall), niece and great-niece.

Special thanks are due to Marvyn’s caregivers: Nilda from Home Instead, Dodee from Vancouver Coastal Health, the efficient team they worked with as well as his doctors.

A funeral service will be held at 2 PM on June 20, 2025 at First Memorial & Boal Chapel, 1505 Lillooet Rd, North Vancouver, BC. Ashes will be interred at North Vancouver Cemetery at a later date.