Shannon Deanne Sequeira

Shannon Deanne Sequeira was born on May 28th, 1969 at The Good Samaritan Hospital in San Jose, California to Judith “Judy” Kay Steckley and the late Theodore “Ted” Foy Waltrip. She has two older siblings, Tracy and Todd,who were born before her and another sibling, Derek,born after her.

Shannon grew up in San Jose with her family, but also spent summers in Twain Harte, California where her grandmother had a cabin. Many fond childhood memories are at Twain Harte with her family and cousins from Oregon. Shannon played baseball with the boys when she was younger before eventually playing softball. She also went to numerous bible camps with her siblings and friends. Shannon was very proud to be a part of the Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (JROTC) in high school. She graduated from Oak Grove High School in 1987. She attended West Valley College in Saratoga,California after high school while working office jobs to support her way through college. It was there at Mortgage Loan Specialist Group (MLSG) where she met her husband, Dan Sequeira.

They married on June 11th, 1994 at the Central Church of Christ in San Jose. Shannon and Dan have three children together, Megan, Mitchell, and Rachel Sequeira. Shannon graduated from West Valley College in 1995 with her associate of arts degree in communication and transferred to San Jose State University. She received her bachelor of arts in speech-communication in 1997 and her master of arts in speech-communication in 2002 from San Jose State University. She is the first college graduate in her family.

She became a professor at San Jose State teaching public speaking, media & culture, and debate for over twenty years until her death. She also taught at West Valley College and other community colleges in the Bay Area. Shannon passed away at 53 on May 29th, 2022 in San Jose, California.

Shannon was a warm, generous, and thoughtful woman, who is loved by so many. She was bright, funny with a sharp wit, and feisty to all who knew her. She was a dear wife, mother, sister, daughter, and friend. Shannon will be sorely missed and will never be forgotten. She is survived by her husband, Dan, her three children, Megan, Mitchell, and Rachel, her siblings, Tracy,Todd, and Derek, her mother, Judy, and her in-laws, John and Mary Sequeira. We love her very much. Her celebration of life will be held on Wednesday, June 15th at 11am at Lima Family Santa Clara Mortuary with a reception to follow. In lieu of flowers, we ask that donations be made to The Shannon Sequeira Scholarship through the LusoAmerican Education Foundation.