Carl W. Shannon

Carl Willis Shannon made his last wildly inappropriate and sarcastic comment on Saturday, October 18^th, then quietly and comfortably left this world on Tuesday, October 21^st.

Carl was born on November 9, 1938, in Middletown, Ohio. He was the oldest child of Marvin and Doris Shannon. A 1956 graduate of Trenton High School, Carl went on to earn a bachelor’s degree at Wittenberg University, then enlisted in the United States Army Reserve and was stationed at Fort Knox from 1963 to 1967. He later worked as an Account Manager at Interstate Folding Box in Middletown, Ohio, and a Government Aerospace Contract Buyer at GE in Cincinnati and Allison/Rolls Royce in Indianapolis. 

Known to many as “Bud”, “Pop-Pop”, and “Papaw”, he loved (in no particular order) the Reds, golf, high school basketball, warm weather, horse-racing (especially Secretariat), boxing, a good rum & Coke, a handful of peanuts, a booming thunderstorm, a trip to Meijer, emailing (mostly inappropriate) jokes and stories, spending time with his family – and toothpicks.

He excelled at growing AMAZING tomatoes, convincing Blue Jays to eat peanuts out of his hand, proficient use of his extensive swear word vocabulary, letting you know he “can’t hear a damn thing you’re sayin’”, and telling it like it is.  

Some folks accused Carl of being a pessimist – but he argued he was simply a realist, and that by expecting the worst he was always pleased with the outcome. 

He is survived by Janet Lee Shannon, his devoted wife of 38 years (we’re still trying to figure out how she put up with him all that time); his children: Carissa Shannon, Theresa (George) Dressler, Steven (Tami) Lang; his grandchildren: Meriel Jenkins, Kieran Jenkins, Matthew Flores, Jessica (Jackson) Whitehurst; and his great-grandchild: Chloe Flores. 

In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by his sister, Marcia Halsey, and his brother, Michael Shannon. 

Carl wanted to make sure to “leave ‘em laughin’”, and that he did – but those tales are best told in person! Please join family and friends to share stories about Carl on Friday, October 31^st at the Arlington Memorial Gardens Lakeside Chapel, 2145 Compton Rd., Cincinnati, Ohio 45231 (follow the red line upon entering the memorial park). Visitation will be 11:00a.m -12:30p.m., followed by a short memorial service, interment, and luncheon.     

In lieu of flowers, the family suggests a donation in his memory to your favorite charity.