Mary Elizabeth Shannon

Mary Elizabeth Shannon was born in Detroit, Michigan but moved to the city of Atlanta as a child, living in the same house for over 80 years. She attended E. Rivers Elementary and North Fulton High School. She graduated with a BS in Chemistry from the University of Georgia, where she was a Kappa Delta. In 1948 Mary Elizabeth began her work at Grady Memorial Hospital in the Department of Surgery.

She was a feisty, independent woman who understood the value of service to others and was a true pioneer in Grady’s surgical laboratory and drafted many of its policies and procedures for right heart catheterization and sterilization protocols. Mary Elizabeth’s role in the surgical laboratory not only included the care of children but also of research animals. She was instrumental in obtaining early Beckman Spectrophotometers, used to measure oxygen saturation in the blood. During those ground-breaking days in right heart catheterization, Mary Elizabeth, played a critical role in the setup of the Heart and Lung laboratory in the Steiner Building at Grady.

Later, Dr. Willis Hurst recruited Mary Elizabeth and Dr. Robert Franch to spearhead the first private cardiac cath lab in the city on the Emory campus.

Mary Elizabeth’s focus on patient care inspired her to earn a degree in Nursing at DeKalb College and become a registered nurse. Mary Elizabeth dedicated over 40 years of service to work in the field of cardiac catheterization before retiring from Emory University Hospital – She never missed a day at work!

For a woman who seemed to understand how important her work was to welfare of others, she had the hardest time allowing her friends to return the favor.

She was a devout Catholic and always attended early Sunday mass at Christ the King where she was a member since childhood. Her neighbors often cautioned her about traveling to services in inclement weather, but Mary Elizabeth rarely missed, even on days that would keep others away. She supported the brothers of Monastery of the Holy Spirit, in Conyers, Georgia. One of the highlights of Mary Elizabeth’s week was having coffee with her friends from church. Her disciplined and pragmatic approach to serving the Catholic Church was an important part of her life.

While her travels took her all around the world, Mary Elizabeth felt most at ease in her yard. Her neighbors will remember her working in her greenhouse, on her lawn mower, feeding the birds or walking her beloved Scotty dogs on the street. As an avid gardener, she was a founding member of the Greater Atlanta branch of the American Begonia Society and served as its treasurer for over twenty years. While Mary Elizabeth will be missed, her independent spirit, industry, and service to others will continue to resonate in the hearts and minds of her friends and neighbors.

Memorial Donations can be made to:

Catholic Relief Services, 228 W. Lexington St., Baltimore, MD 21201 – www.CRS.org

The Atlanta Humane Society, 981 Howell Mill Road NW, Atlanta, GA 30318, www.atlantahumane.org/