Geraldine Shannon

Geraldine was born on December 1, 1932 in Elizabeth, Louisiana to Jasper and Elma (Pulliam) Collins. She grew up in Elizabeth playing the piano at church and playing french horn. She attended college at McNeese State College and graduated in 1953 with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Education. While attending college, she played the french horn in the band, which is where she met future husband John M. Shannon, whom she married on August 5, 1953. Gerry and John and their two daughters, Vina and Nancy Kathleen, moved to Sterling, Colorado, in 1962 where they lived for a year. The family moved to Northglenn, Colorado the next year and have lived in the Denver Metro area ever since. Gerry taught fourth grade for many years while raising two daughters and even made some of the girl’s clothing while they were growing up. She was a very devout member of the United Methodist Church and was always active in church activities including the choir, women’s groups, fund raisers and a number of different committees. She loved to cook and always cooked from scratch, which the whole family enjoyed! She made sure she passed on what she knew about cooking to her daughters and grandson. She spent time as a paralegal and was also a librarian for a time. She was an accomplished pianist and played the piano occasionally for church events, to accompany other musicians and performers, and most often for fun at home. After retiring, Gerry and John traveled internationally on numerous occasions for sightseeing and for research into a one of a kind book she co-authored with John, “The Assay Balance, Its Evolution and the Histories of the Companies that Made Them”. Gerry was an avid scrapbooker and made scrapbooks for all the major events in her life. She enjoyed knitting, crocheting and playing bridge. She was always interested in what her daughters and grandson wanted to do and greatly valued the time she spent with them. She wrote many letters to her daughters and grandson when they lived out of state to make sure they were up to date on all the goings on in the family. Her love of music had a great impact on her grandson and she was very influential in the course his life took. Geraldine passed away peacefully on May 16, 2026 in Lakewood, Colorado. Gerry was a loving wife, mother, grandmother and great-grandmother and her absence will be felt throughout the family. She will be greatly missed.

She was preceded in death by her husband John Shannon in 2015. She is survived by her daughter Vina Bridge (Mark), daughter Nancy Kathleen Shannon, grandson Collin Bridge (Sara), and great-grandson Westley Bridge.