Timothy John Shanahan was born on June 2, 1940 in South Nassau Community Hospital, Oceanside, Long Island, NY and was baptized at St. Agnes Roman Catholic Church in Rockville Center, Long Island, NY.
He attended Terrell Avenue Elementary School in Oceanside and graduated from Hempstead High School, Hempstead, Long Island, NY in June 1958. On July 21, 1958, he enlisted in the United States Navy and completed boot camp at the Great Lakes Naval Station in Illinois. He also completed the Naval Meteorology Program and in 1958 was stationed briefly in Texas where he met the Shanahan family that had moved from NY to Texas in the 1940’s. He was then assigned to the aircraft carrier Lake Champlain and was honorably discharged on July 20, 1962. During his service in the United States Navy, Tim received the “Good Conduct Award.”
He worked at IBM in New York City, but resigned in the late 1960’s to set out driving across Canada to Alaska. He settled in Vancouver for a short time and then in 1970 moved on to Carnation, Washington, where he worked as a baker. He once said that he had visited 47 states.
During his childhood in NY, he met his Father’s sisters, brothers and their children. This helped him to eventually prepare the Shanahan Family Tree. The Family history and stories told by his Mom, Grandmother and Grandfather, allowed him to also construct his Maternal Family Trees.
In the late 1970’s, his Uncle Ray moved to Carnation with his wife Lu Ming and their two daughters, Lu Ming (Mamie) and Marion. Lu Ming (Mamie) gave birth to a daughter, Bethany, and sons, Robert and Dustin. Marion gave birth to a daughter, Ashlee, and son. Christopher. All remained in the State of Washington or Oregon. They were Tim’s beloved Family.
Tim loved Lu Ming and Marion, the two daughters, who were his cousins, and tried to make their lives better. Each of their children, Bethany, Ashlee, Robert, Dustin, and Christopher and the grandchildren were exceptional in his eyes. Tim also became very fond of Priscilla and her daughter, Gracie. Priscilla, his cousin living in Hawaii, came to Washington to meet him. He proudly included all of them in his Family Trees.
Tim’s closest kin, his sister and brother, called each other regularly over the past few years to keep up on each other’s lives and to also discuss and gather information on their Ancestry.