Posts: 304
Location: Lino Lakes, MN | North Metro Muskie's, Inc. Chapter 21
In memory of Jim Shannon
It is with a very heavy heart that I send this to you. Jim Shannon, long time member of Muskies, Inc. passed away Wednesday evening November 25, 2015 one day before his 65th birthday. On November 23 he had a massive heart attack and had been in a coma until his passing on Wednesday. Jim had battled cancer for over a year.
Jim was a member of Twin Cities Chapter from 1978 – 1992 until it split into two Chapters in 1992. He was a founding member of our North Metro Chapter. His member number is 7645. Board Member and Treasurer of our Chapter, a representative of the Minnesota Muskie and Pike Alliance and a long-term Board Member of the Muskies, Inc. National organization. He served in many capacities locally and nationally, most recently as Vice President of Finance. Jim worked tirelessly for Muskies, Inc. at every level. He worked on the 2016 Calendar up until he passed away. It is safe to say that he had a tremendously positive impact on our organization. His contributions are too numerous to mention. His passion knew no bounds. His wit and wisdom will be sorely missed.
You will be missed. Your pain on earth is over and we will miss you. We know you are going to be catching the biggest muskies, the largest walleyes, and hitting many holes in one. You will be telling stories about your many hunting and fishing adventures. Thank you for being our friend. Thank you too for loving Mavis Shannon. You are her true love. We love you and miss you.
Jim was a long time member of the International Chapter of MI, and got involved with the International after seeing many times that the International Chapter was not always doing the best thing for the individual Chapters.
The North Metro Board pushed for many efforts to help all the individual chapters out, and Jim was a major voice in those efforts, both during and before his time on the International Board. Jim helped the North Metro Board with many efforts, such as: Eliminating the vertical hold of Muskie pictures from the magazine, Giving a portion of member dues money back to the individual chapters, cost savings at the International Level by changing the Muskie Magazine from 12 issues to 6 issues a year, the inception of the Minnesota Muskie and Pike Alliance.
According to Brian Klobe, Jim was on the only North Metro Team to win the Gil Hamm Tournament. Jim loved to “good guy” about things that were not quite right in the Muskie world, but his “good guy” was usually a legitimate one and he was willing to challenge what was not quite right. He had a flare about him that sometimes made some of us open our eyes wide at times, but you knew it was just the way Jim was. He had a colorful vocabulary that he was not afraid to share with you, and it usually made us smile and laugh. Jim had a passion for his Ranger Boat, and let you know it if you had a tin boat like mine, but again, all the time with a sly smile on his face. He loved a cold beer and not one of the popular wimpy beers, it had to have flavor and character. Jim, I feel, was a positive influence on all of us, on Muskies Inc. on the people around him. Jim did what was right for Muskies Inc., not what was right for him. He cared, and he was not afraid to let people know he cared.
We knew Jim wasn't doing well, but it hits hard now that he is gone. He will be truly missed. It will be so hard to go to a meeting and not have Jim be there. We will miss him. The Muskie world will definitely miss him! The next Muskie you catch, say a prayer for Jim, and smile, who knows, he might be there with you!
His Memorial service will be on Saturday December 5th at the Coon Rapids United Methodist church, located at 10506 Hanson Blvd. NW Coon Rapids MN visitation will be from 1:00 PM to 2:00 PM, Service will be at 2:00 PM, followed by cake and coffee in Wesley Hall.
Edited by Sorgy 12/2/2015 10:08 AM
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