GRAFTON: Kevin F. Shannon, age 60, passed away quietly after a short battle with pancreatic cancer on June 14, 2018 at home surrounded by his loving family and two dogs.
Kevin was born in Worcester and grew up in Grafton. He graduated from Grafton High School as well as Worcester State College, and has worked for Ricoh Business Services for over 35 years as the Regional Sales Manager.
Kevin is survived by his three boys Shawn, Taylor and Thomas Shannon, his mother Bettyann Shannon, his former wife Sheryl (Olson), his brother James and wife Barbara Shannon, his sister Kathleen and her husband Robert Fitzpatrick, nieces and nephews Jaime and Dylan Fitzpatrick, James and Katherine Shannon and Nicholas Olson.
Kevin started his adventurous life at age 14 skiing the Swiss and Italian Alps. Six years later, he spent 5 months backpacking across Europe and the British Isles. Although it never became a priority, his 2 sky-diving successes were one of the many highlights of his life. Recently, Kevin enjoyed the opportunity to visit Australia and scuba dive the Great Barrier Reef with his son, Shawn.
Kevin loved sports, he was recently inducted into the Grafton High Hall of Fame for baseball and was also a starting football player for the high school. Coaching at the little league level gave him the opportunity to be with the boys while nurturing his love of the game.
When not in the local hockey rinks for formal games you would find Kevin shoveling off the family pond and cooking burgers while the pond hockey games went on for hours.
His yearly trips to Buffalo to follow the Patriots with his co-workers became a legendary event.
While sports were his first love, his passion was his music. Largely self-taught, Kevin mastered the guitar, played the piano and also enjoyed singing. His greatest pleasure was teaching both family and friends the guitar. Sharing his talent and knowledge was his greatest reward- but his infectious smile, laugh and good humor are the treasures that will be remembered by us all.
In lieu of flowers, please make your donations to the Jimmy Fund 10 Brookline Place Brookline, MA 02445 or online at www.JimmyFundGiving.org.
All are welcome to a Funeral Mass for Kevin Monday June 18th at 10:00am at St. Mary’s Church 17 Waterville St. N. Grafton, MA 01536. There are no calling hours. He will then be laid to rest at Pine Grove Cemetery in North Grafton. A Book of Memories to share a favorite story or message with Kevin’s family is available online at:
www.RoneyFuneralHome.com