Robert L Shannon

Bob was born on May 5, 1923 at his parents’ house in Fresno on Roosevelt Avenue in the Tower District. His father, Robert Massie Shannon, died young at age 50, when Bob was barely 2 years old. Bob’s mother, Flossie Lee Brown Shannon, raised him on her own with the help of Bob’s older brother, Estell Leroy Shannon, 21 years Bob’s senior. Estell passed away in November of 1980 in Fresno, and was Bob’s only sibling. After attending school at Fresno High School, where he played football and graduated in 1941, he was drafted in World War II and flew B-25 bomber airplanes in the Army Air Corps. Stationed in Alabama, he trained other young pilots how to fly—in his words, “for some particular reason, I was good at it. I loved to fly.” While in the service, he married hometown sweetheart Mary Elinor McMillan, also of Fresno. She traveled by train to marry him, and they were married, him in his uniform and her in a pink dress suit, on March 7, 1945 in Enid, Oklahoma. Although he was one of a group of soldiers trained to follow the first Doolittle Raid with a second offense, he and his fellow soldiers never went—it was decided against after the casualties incurred during the first attack. He received an honorable discharge in 1945 and went home to Fresno. After the war, he went to work for Industrial Indemnity Insurance Company, where he worked for almost 30 years, retiring early at age 58. After retirement, he and Mary were able to fullfill their lifelong dream of travel, and he enjoyed golf with his buddies, meeting his friends for breakfast at McDonalds, ministering to those in need in his kind and gentle way, card tricks, jokes, oil painting, particularly cowboy and golf scenes, and especially playing with his two granddaughters, now grown. Notably, he was a member of the congregation at People’s Church of Fresno from its’ inception. He made many lifelong friends in the church and his faith was one of his defining characteristics. Those who knew him described him as a humble, strong, steady man who never spoke maliciously or raised his voice. He provided his family and friends with steadfast friendship and love, all with a foundation of strong faith in our Lord, Jesus Christ. After 47 years of marriage, Mary died of cancer on Nov. 12, 1993. Bob took loving care of her all throughout her illness, and after her passing, he joined a grief support group through Peoples Church. It was there that he met native Missourian Wanda “Wendy” Lorraine Allman Finley Fanning, herself a widow and mother to two adult children, one of whom, Sandy Franklin, still survives. They married on Sept. 17, 1994. Bob and Wendy lived together in Fresno until Bob’s death Tuesday. Bob’s family is so thankful for Wendy, for the love she and Bob had for each other and their family, and for the wonderful 24 years that they shared together. A Graveside service will be held at Fresno Memorial Gardens, 175 S. Cornelia Ave. in Fresno on Aug. 18 at 10 a.m. Bob is survived by his wife, Wendy, and two sons from his first marriage, Brad Shannon and Cliff Shannon, as well as Brad’s wife, Kathy Shannon, and Brad and Kathy’s two daughters, Madeline Shannon and Haley Shannon, step-daughter Sandy Franklin and her husband Ray. Bob’s family wishes to thank the staff of Fairwinds Woodward Park, the assisted living home Bob and Wendy lived in. The loving care and support of Bob’s caregivers, Lisa Vera, Alma Vega, Lilly, Vicki, Marisol, as well as the St. Agnes Hospice nurses Michelle and Jane, in his last weeks was especially appreciated by the family.