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obituary
Dr. George William Shannon, 76, passed away peacefully in Columbus, Georgia, surrounded by immediate family members on June 11, 2022.
A funeral mass will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, June 18, 2022 at Holy Family Church with Father Ben Dallas officiating. A rosary and wake prayer service will be held at 6:00 p.m. on Friday, June 17, 2022 followed by a visitation until 8:00 p.m. at McMullen Funeral Home and Crematorium, 3874 Gentian Blvd. Columbus, GA 31907. For those unable to attend the funeral mass, it will be streamed live on the McMullen Funeral website. Interment will take place at a later date at St. Michael’s Cemetery in Loretto, PA.
Dr. Shannon was born in Colver, Pennsylvania to Agnes Marie (Huber) Shannon and George William Shannon. He was part of the inaugural graduating class of 1963 from Bishop Carroll High School in Ebensburg, PA and later graduated with magna cum laude honors from St. Francis College in Loretto, PA. At St. Francis, he was president of its senior class and received the prestigious “Mr. Frankie Award” for academic excellence and extracurricular involvement. It was and still is the highest annual student award given by the University. He continued his education and earned his MD from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio, and completed his internship and internal medicine residency at Cleveland University Hospitals. He was board certified in family medicine and internal medicine. After completing his training, he served two years in the United States Public Health Service in Parsons, Tennessee. After his service, Dr. Shannon moved to Jackson, Tennessee to become the founding Director of Medical Education at the University of Tennessee Family Medicine Residency Program until 1982 when he later moved to Columbus , Georgia, to accept the position of Director of Medical Education at The Medical Center. Dr. Shannon also served as Associate Dean at Emory University and the Medical College of Georgia during this time. In 1988 he left this position to enter private practice and was a founding member of the Horizons Physician Network/Horizons Diagnostics Group. In addition to his clinical practice and service as medical director, Dr. Shannon has served as associate and assistant clinical professor at the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine, Gwinnett Georgia Campus, and the University of Tennessee, respectively. He retired from his practice in 2015 to spend more time with his family and friends, to enjoy the peace and serenity of his home on Lake Martin in Alabama, and to follow his beloved Auburn Tigers. In 2019 he joined the Spring Harbor community where he spent the rest of his life.
Among his extensive volunteer experience, Dr. Shannon has held several positions at the Georgia Academy of Family Physicians, including Chairman of the Board, and the American Academy of Family Physicians, including Board Member. administration. In recognition of his services, he has twice received the President’s Award from the Georgia Academy of Family Physicians. He was also recognized as the 1998 Family Physician of the Year by the Georgia Academy of Family Physicians and Medical Association of Georgia.
He is predeceased by his parents, Agnes and George Shannon, Patricia Christner Moore Shannon, sister, Joseph Shannon, brother, and Lt. Col. (Retired) William A. McHail, husband/brother-in-law of sister Dorothy.
Dr. Shannon is survived by Kerri Shannon, daughter, of Decatur, GA and her family, Joe Younkins, son-in-law, Hannah Younkins, granddaughter, Caden Younkins, grandson, and Heather Ford, daughter, of Grand Junction, CO and her husband, Adam Ford, son-in-law, and Adam’s children, and George’s siblings, Jan Marie Shannon of Middleburg Heights, OH, Joe’s wife/sister-in-law, Dorothy McHail, sister, of Meridian , ID, James Shannon , brother, of La Grange, NC, and his family, Christine, wife/sister-in-law of James, and George is survived by several nieces and nephews.
Dr. Shannon expressed her wish that Jim Pinto, Larry “Beamer” Keaton, Stephanie Jankiewicz, Herb Cawthorne and Sarajayne Andrews, mother of Heather Ford and Kerri Shannon, will be remembered as chosen family members and devoted friends who enriched his life.
Dr. Shannon also expressed his wish to recognize all the families he has served in the community, who have entrusted their care to him, all the resident students he has mentored, who pass on his teachings to their patients and communities. , Mary Simpson, PA, a dear friend and colleague, and Dr. Michael Sims, a special friend and colleague.
Special thanks are extended to all staff, private and salaried, of Spring Harbor, St. Francis Medical Center and Columbus Hospice for their true dedication to the care and well-being of Dr. Shannon.
In lieu of flowers, the family is asking that donations be sent to the Georgia Healthy Family Alliance, Georgia’s family physician foundation, which supports local community health needs and youth education about the harms of tobacco. and vaping:
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A memorial tree has been planted for Dr George