Obituary of Shannon Patricia Slattery
February 10, 1970 a beautiful spirit entered into this world, the child of Maureen and James Slattery, sister of Erin. Her name became Shannon Patricia. From the beginning she brought light and love from a place both unreachable yet ever present, a world to which the poet William Wordsworth alluded in his Ode: Intimations of Immortality From Early Childhood:
Our birth is but a sleep and a forgetting:
The Soul that rises with us, our life's Star,
Hath had elsewhere its setting,
And cometh from afar:
Not in entire forgetfulness,
And not in utter nakedness,
But trailing clouds of glory do we come
From God, who is our home…
In Shannon, the spirit, which is of God, spread its beauty, its joy, its love all about her.
As time crept on its petty earthly pace, Shannon enfolded many into her life, including her two younger half-sisters sisters Moira and Sarah. Her friends were many; of special note is Dina Lombardo, and truly central to that which elevates us is her love for Brent Fairhurst with whom she created another beautiful soul in earthly form: Her son Ryan, followed by his two sons, her grandchildren, Ryan Jr. and Gianni.
But Shannon, her father’s Shinin’ Brightly, never lost touch with the radiance from which she came, never fell into the worldly trap of forgetting. She knew there was more, and she ached for it. Thus was born into her the pain of the outcast traveler who while surrounded by life and love must forever walk alone. Her path was hard and sometimes dark, but she never lost the shining spirit which kept her going through it all.
However, as it was destined to do, the end of her earthly life came upon her.
We who loved her should not be sad, should not regret her passing, rather may we take heart from the finish of the poem:
What though the radiance which was once so bright
Be now for ever taken from (our) sight,
Though nothing can bring back the hour
Of splendour in the grass, of glory in the flower;
We will grieve not, rather find
Strength in what remains behind;
In the primal sympathy
Which having been must ever be;
In the soothing thoughts that spring
Out of human suffering;
In the faith that looks through death,
We will miss you, Shannon. We will always love you. But we will never mourn you. You once again are home.
Relatives and Friends are invited to pay their respects and may call from 4-6PM on Tuesday, January 7, 2025 in the Chapel of Simple Choices, Inc., 218 2nd Avenue (corner of 104th Street) Troy, NY 12180. A Service of Remembrance will conclude the calling hours at 6 o’clock in the funeral home All are Welcome.
Arrangements are by Simple Choices, Inc. Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared with the Slattery Family online at: SimpleChoicesCremation.com
