Memorial
Kevin Shannahan, 60, of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, passed away on Monday April 15th. Kevin was born on Nov 21st 1958. Our brother Kevin was a kind and caring man who always had the ability to brighten the day of anyone he were to cross paths with. He had a “one liner” retort to almost anything people would say and he also had a joke for any occasion, but most importantly he had the uncanny ability to remember events from long ago and turn them into great stories of his childhood and growing up in the Noelridge neighborhood. Kevin cherished his younger years and would regularly fondly remember those days of playing with friends and family. The neighborhood was a very important part of his life and up to the very end he’d vividly recall the memories. Kevin also was proud to be known as a “Funseeker” Kevin and a group of his friends from the Kennedy High School class of 77 coined the term and lived up to the name on a daily basis. The shenanigans they got into were just another opportunity for Kevin to recall and tell stories of those amazingly fun years. Here again, to the very end, Kevin considered himself a funseeker and would call his close friends by the same name. It’s clear that Kevin would always gravitate to people and things that were fun and that’s probably why Kevin committed so many years of his life to playing softball here in Cedar Rapids and tournaments all over the state. The proudest moment of his life was when he was inducted into the Cedar Rapids Softball Hall Of Fame. While this was a personal achievement, Kevin wasted no time recognizing his fellow teammates as the reason he was inducted. Kevin’s teammates throughout the years became close and dear friends of his and once again, Kevin used these memories for another chance to tell a fun story about those days. Kevin would readily admit that he may not have been the best athlete on the team but we know he had the heart, the determination and drive to make himself and his team mates winners. Kevin will be dearly missed by his brothers and sisters and his entire extended family as well as countless friends and acquaintances he met along the way. Kevin was proceeded in death by his father, Thomas Newman Shannahan and his mother Dorothy Jean Shannahan. Kevin was survived by his siblings Tom Shannahan, Peg (Ted) Wolf, Sue (Harry) Tate, Pam Shannahan, Lyn Shannahan, Rex Shannahan, Mona (Dave) Gilmore, Jackie Shannahan, Scott and Mickey Shannahan and many nephews, nieces and cousins.
A visitation will be held from 4:00-7:00 pm on Wednesday April 17, at the Cedar Chapel of Memories, 4200 1st Ave NE, Cedar Rapids. Services will be at 11:00 am on Thursday April 18, at the Cedar Chapel of Memories. Burial will take place at Cedar Memorial Park Cemetery.