DECEASED ALUM:  JIM SHANNON, FHHS '70 

James A. Shannon Jr.    August 4, 1952 - March 21, 2021



Born on August 4, 1952, in Fayetteville, N.C., he was the son of James A. Shannon and Carolyn Todd Shannon. His parents, grandparents, Virgil Q. and Lula Shannon, and Ray and Florence Todd, and an aunt, Sara Shannon Dean, preceded him in death.

Jim's father's Air Force career meant his childhood was spent in many locations, including Germany, England, and Alexandria, Va., where he graduated from Fort Hunt High School. He received a bachelor's degree in Civil Engineering from The Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, Ga., where he met his wife, Elizabeth Doscher, a student at Agnes Scott College.

Jim joined Transco, (later known as the Williams Companies), in 1976, and served in a variety of engineering and operations leadership roles at various locations within the company, including Transmission Foreman, Transmission Manager, Director of Operations, and Assistant to the Senior Vice President of Transmission in Houston. He served as Director of Operations in Charlottesville for 23 years before retiring in 2015. Jim was awarded the Randy Barnard "Leave the Ladder Down Award" in 2011, recognizing his leadership strength, his efforts toward fostering a high-performing workplace, and exemplifying Williams' core values and beliefs.

In the community, Jim served for several years on the Program Review and Funding Committee of the United Way-Thomas Jefferson Area, and more recently on the Board of Directors of the Ednam Community Homeowners' Association.

From his father, Jim inherited a love of airplanes; friends and family will remember him practicing aerobatics over western Albemarle County in the Christen Eagle II single-engine biplane he built in the family garage. Jim was also an avid golfer, and spent many happy hours on the course at Farmington Country Club in recent years. There he enjoyed the camaraderie of a closely-knit group of golf buddies, for whom he was "The Arranger" for many of their golf rounds.

Jim is survived by his wife of 44 years, Beth, also of Charlottesville; a daughter, Kelly Shannon-Henderson and her husband, Conor Henderson, of Tuscaloosa, Ala.; a son, James William Shannon and his wife, Jeanette, of Buford, Ga.; a granddaughter, Nuala Henderson; a sister, Peggy Baber and her husband, David, of Roswell, N.M.; two aunts, Marjorie Fitzgerald and Nancy Conlon and her husband, Thomas Conlon, all of Dayton, Ohio; several brothers- and sisters-in-law, cousins, nieces, and nephews.

A private memorial will be held for immediate family only. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that memorial contributions be made to the Charlottesville-Albemarle SPCA, P.O. Box 7047, Charlottesville, VA 22906 or online at https://caspca.org/give/donate-now/

Condolences may be sent to the family at www.hillandwood.com.