Shannon was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis 13 years ago, a cruel autoimmune disease that progressed quite quickly for her in the last five years. She became housebound when she had to start using a wheelchair, as her home had many stairs that were impossible to navigate, and then moved to full-time care at the Columbia View Lodge in Trail, BC, last July. Once she moved into the care home, she deteriorated quickly, and when she died, she only had a bit of use of her left hand, which she could use to slowly navigate her iPad, but was unable to even feed herself or do anything else. Like many MS patients, she needed to control the smallest things, as she had lost control of everything else in her life, and had become ultra-sensitive to the smallest wrinkle in her sheets and how pillows were placed, which gave her a lot of frustration. This is not how she would ever have chosen to live her life.
Shannon was smart as a whip, fun, silly and sassy, and loved a good lewd joke. She loved to make her kids (and the rest of us) squirm, with a twinkle in her eye and big grin on her face! She was a crazy cat lady and killer of all plants. She loved to bake and decorated fabulous cakes for her kids when they were younger. She loved tomatoes and strawberries, and decorating her kitchen with red things. Carnations were her favourite flower, because they lasted forever, and were cheap!
She loved music, like all her family, especially Abba, CCR and Queen, and had a huge Spotify list of her favourite songs she liked to sing along with. She had a fabulous, powerful singing voice, which not a lot of people had the pleasure of hearing, which is too bad, because she could really rock it. She was a night owl and loved to binge on late-night TV. She owned every season of Big Bang Theory and loved to laugh at those goofs. She was easily amused. 🙂
Shannon was the most stubborn person you’ll ever meet. Once she made up her mind, there was no budging her. But she also had a huge heart, and there was absolutely, without a doubt, nothing more important to her than her family. Her 15-year-old son Nicolas, her 20-year-old daughter Olivia, and her husband Paul were the world to her. She could talk your ears off for hours about her kids! She loved to go camping with them, and playing board games with everyone at her dining table, late into the night. She was always up for a hilarious game of Apples to Apples. She did a wonderful job raising her kids – that is very evident in seeing the excellent human beings they’ve turned out to be. Livi and Nic are smart, capable, independent and very loving.
Her husband Paul was the love of her life. In a cruel twist of fate, he was diagnosed with MS as well, a year after Shannon was. They had a strong and very loving marriage, and her death is leaving an enormous hole in his life and heart.
She also leaves behind her mom, Marian Ackerman, who was a rock for Shannon, helping her with meals, cleaning, and anything else she needed, especially in the last couple of years. They were best friends. She was predeceased by her daddy, Wilbert Ackerman, and will be enormously missed by her siblings Stacey, Shawn, Sandra and Shelley, and their spouses and children, as well as all the aunts, uncles and cousins in her huge family.
Thank you so much to Dr. Sue Benzer and N.P. Lori Verigin, who cared for her and were with her and her family when she died. Huge thanks to Kassandra Schwabenbauer, her massage therapist, who became an invaluable friend and enormous support to both Shannon and Paul.
In lieu of flowers, please consider making a donation to the BCSPCA, her favourite cause.
Nos plus sincères sympathies à la famille et aux amis de Shannon Louise Jones May 13th 2020..
Décès pour la Ville: Trail, Province: Colombie britanique