Michael J. Shannon

Michael J. Shannon was a man who understood the cost of living in the “land of the free.” America offers the promise of freedom, and Mike knew better than most that taking advantage of that freedom means being willing to protect it. Starting at his own front door and extending all the way to our nation’s most prominent locations, he dedicated his life to defending his home and loved ones in countless ways.

In the late 1930s, America was just starting to recover from a dark time in its history. The Great Depression had wreaked havoc on the nation’s economy, and thousands of people had suffered. By 1936 though, things were beginning to look up. On May 16 of that year, Ralph and Verona (Eplett) Shannon of Traverse City, Michigan, welcomed their second child and only son, Michael Joseph.

Ralph owned a heating company and Verona was a teacher, although she bravely took on the monumental task of stay-at-home mom after their children were born. Ann was the first, followed by Michael seven years later, and then nine years later Katherine rounded out the crew, filling their house on 6th Street with plenty of laughter and adventures. Mike was an excellent big brother. He usually addressed Kathy as “Squirt” or “Pipsqueak”, and often bribed her with sticks of gum to leave him and his friends alone in the basement. When he worked at the family’s rental homes in the summer, he often brought her along with him. They both enjoyed their family vacations at their cottage at Bowers Harbor on Old Mission Peninsula.

Mike graduated from Traverse City High School, which would later become Traverse City Central, in 1954. While in high school, he had an opportunity to cultivate his photography skills by shooting crime scenes for the Michigan State Police. He would continue to indulge his love for photography throughout his life. After high school, he went to the Sault Ste Marie branch of Michigan Tech until 1956, and then graduated from Michigan State University in 1958.

While Mike was attending MSU, he met a charming and talented young woman named Kay Brown, a fellow Traverse City native even though they had never met while they lived there. They hit it off and started dating almost immediately. They exchanged vows in the spring of 1958 and together they had the joy of raising two children, David and Patricia.

Mike had fallen in love with flying when a friend took him for an airplane ride. He wanted badly to join the Air Force, but his vision wasn’t quite good enough. Instead, he joined Army intelligence, which surprised no one, least of all his sister Kathy. He had practiced interrogation techniques on her when she was seven years old and booby-trapped his room so she couldn’t snoop around, so Army intelligence wasn’t a stretch. Mike and Kay moved the family to Colorado Springs after he took the job, the first in a long line of moves around the country.

Mike’s hard work, love of country, and outstanding skills eventually led him to the United States Secret Service, where he was called upon to protect every president from JFK to Ronald Reagan. He was assigned to multiple heads of state, and once was part of a detail guarding Pope John Paul II. He helped catch a gang of counterfeiters as well as an armed robber and safecracker named Alfred Oponowicz, a member of the FBI’s Top Ten Most Wanted list in 1963 and ‘64. Mike served on many of the darkest days the nation ever faced, one of which was working on Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson’s security detail the day John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas.

Mike’s job meant the family moved often. Besides Colorado Springs, they lived in Baltimore, New York City, Washington D.C., Cleveland, Pittsburgh, and Fairfax, Virginia, before moving to Grand Rapids where they finally settled after he retired in 1987. Throughout all their moves, he protected his family first. He taught his kids to respect authority and the law, to look out for others and help when they could, and to appreciate the freedoms he worked so hard to preserve. He truly believed that blood was thicker than water, and despite the many important assignments he had been given, family meant more to him than anything else.

Mike and his family were members of First Congregational Church in Grand Rapids. After church, they often went out to eat at the Town House or Dog House restaurants and then watched baseball on TV. Mike loved true crime and political books, and read anything he could get his hands on by fellow agents. He loved a good steak, although he had to adapt to a strict diet of chicken, salmon, and other low-fat foods after multiple bypass surgeries. He was a firm believer in the Second Amendment, was an NRA member, and owned a vast collection of firearms. He volunteered at the Kiwanis Club, where he read to the blind and gave many talks about his career.

Mike and Kay both loved music, and classical pieces brought them great joy. Mike especially enjoyed organ and piano music, and he owned an organ or baby grand piano for most of his life. His prized possession was his beautiful Steinway grand piano that he eventually donated to his church. Kay had played the cello for many years, and even when she was in the last stages of her long battle with breast cancer and could no longer play, they still enjoyed listening to classical music together. Mike lost his beloved Kay on October 23, 2010. He endured another terrible blow when his son David passed in 2020.

To stay active, Mike joined other seniors walking at local malls. On one of these occasions, he met a thoughtful and encouraging woman named Ann Albright. Their friendship quickly grew and they were married at Trinity Congregational Church in 2013, looking forward to however many years they would be granted together and determined to live them out with gratitude. Ann passed away in January of 2024.

Mike loved telling stories about his Secret Service adventures and never had a problem holding an audience captive. He attended several events for retired Secret Service agents in California and Florida with Kay and later with Ann. His love for his job was rooted strongly in his love for his family and for everything the United States of America stood for.

Michael J. Shannon died on January 4, 2025. He was a man who loved his family and his country fiercely and chose to put his own life on the line for both of those things. He believed in fighting for what he loved and being ready to do anything to defend it, and made sure to pass those beliefs along to his children. He leaves behind a legacy of love and patriotism that his family will be proud to carry on.