Martin “Jake” Shannon, 62, of Portsmouth, New Hampshire formerly of Lawrence, Massachusetts, passed away peacefully on Tuesday, February 25th, 2014 at Saint Elizabeth’s Medical Center in Brighton, MA.
He was born in Methuen on May 16th, 1951 to the late Dr. Martin J. Shannon and Mary J. (Sullivan) Shannon. Jake had deep roots in Lawrence and lived in the Prospect Hill area. The Shannon family has been in Lawrence for over 100 years and has been deeply devoted to public service.
Jake worked as an Assistant Principal in the Lawrence Public Schools and as a Federal Funding Specialist at the Massachusetts Department of Education for 25 years until his retirement in 2000. Jake was trilingual including Spanish and French. His education included a Ph.D. in Psychology. He and his wife also became citizens of the Republic of Ireland, and enjoyed traveling and meditation.
His family members include his wife
Magdalena Suarez-Shannon, Associate Professor of Criminal Justice at Northern Essex Community College.
His brothers:
James and Silvia Shannon of North Reading, MA
Paul and Joyce Shannon of Methuen, MA
His nieces and nephews:
Sarah Shannon and Brent Howard of New York City
Michael Shannon of Brighton, MA
Joseph Shannon and Kate Foster of Belmont, MA.
His funeral mass will be celebrated on Tuesday, March 4th, 2014 at 1:00 p.m. and all are welcomed to Saint Mary’s Church in Lawrence, MA. Arrangements are under the direction of the John Breen Memorial Funeral Home, Inc., 122 Amesbury Street, Lawrence, MA. For online condolences please visit us at www.breenfuneralhome.com.