Edward Joseph Shanahan, Jr., died peacefully on December 27, 2021, in Roswell, Georgia, with his family by his side. A celebration of his life will be held in the Spring of 2022. Burial will be held privately with his family at Arlington National Cemetery.
Ed was born on June 7, 1936, in San Francisco, California to Edward Joseph Shanahan, Sr., and Minnette (Riley) Shanahan. He was raised in San Francisco and graduated from the University of California, San Francisco, in 1958 with a B.S. Degree in Economics. He also obtained his Masters Degree in Automatic Data Processing from George Washington University in 1971. In 1957, he married Nancy Louise McGuire and they had five children together. Shortly after graduating from college, Ed began a prestigious military career in the U.S. Army, traveled all over the United States and Southeast Asia with his wife and children, and enjoyed discovering areas of interests wherever the family was stationed. Unfortunately, his marriage to Nancy ended in divorce, and years later, he married Maleerat Naovarat (Add). Ed and Add moved to Georgia after he retired from the military, which is where he has resided until his death.
Ed was an intelligent man who believed, first and foremost, in education. It was so important to him that he provided educational funds for his children and grandchildren and sponsored others in need, who would not have otherwise obtained an education. Ed was an avid reader and read anything military-related, historical in nature, and in his own words “anything he can get his hands on.” He could spout off dates and facts of historical events that occurred like no other. Ed was also an avid traveler, who loved Thailand, Ireland, and Italy (to name a few countries) and spent many years embracing the culture, food, and citizens of the countries he visited. He even attempted to learn to speak Italian so that he could converse with his Italian friends. Ed continued to travel well into his 80s, much to the dismay of his children. Ed’s integrity, honor, strength of character, and humanity was impeccable. As a result, his children learned valuable life lessons from him and are better people because of it.
Ed is survived by his children, Susan Barone (Steve), Barbara Carpenter, Janet Campbell (Bill), Michael Shanahan (Elizabeth), and Kathryn Moseman (Bill); grandchildren, Jarrad Barone, Ruth (Annie) Carpenter, Diane Carpenter, Katherine Carpenter, William Campbell, IV, Andrew Campbell, Christopher Campbell, Erich Leach, Jacqueline Leach, Michelle Shanahan, Thomas Shanahan, Jacob Moseman, Delaney Moseman, and Saxon Moseman; great-grandchildren, Katelyn Barone, Eric Barone, Gracie Vaught, Emalai Vaught, Delaney Vaught, William Campbell, V, Violet June Gonzales, and Axel Preston Gonzales; sister-in-law, Beverly Shanahan; nieces, Pamela White, Laurie Dinneen, Natalie Sukhaphadhana, and Thanisorn Naovarat; nephew, Christopher T. Sukhaphadhana; and numerous grand-nieces and grand-nephews. He is preceded in death by his parents, Edward and Minnette Shanahan, his sister, Minette Shanahan, his brother, William Shanahan, and his wife, Maleerat Naovarat. He is also going to be missed by many close friends from Georgia, Thailand, Ireland, and Italy.
Ed’s family wishes to thank Michelle and Rihannon from Lotus Blossom Hospice and Palliative Care for their compassion, sensitivity, and excellent care of Ed prior to and at the time of his death. Ed’s family also wishes to thank Kelly Graffius from Oasis Senior Advisors for her unwavering support and her “boots on the ground” assistance to Ed and his children prior to his death.
