The Herald, Sharon, Pa.

Local News

June 21, 2009

Shannon marks milestone

By Tom Davidson

WHEATLAND —

Wearing a dark suit and sporting a Kangol hat that resembles the kind English bobbies wear, Wilbert L. Shannon Sr., is an icon of the Shenango Valley, driving around town each day in the Cadillac with the WLS SR license plates.

Shannon’s been more than a funeral director during his 50 years in business. He is a study of efficient motion.

Before “a purpose-driven life” was the title of a best-seller, Shannon was living like that each day.

At 74, he could be retired, as son Wilbert Jr.’s been waiting in the wings for more than a decade. They work together in the family business: the Wilbert L. Shannon Funeral Home, 33 Broadway Ave., Wheatland.“After 50 years, the man is still continuing to do what he was called to do,” the Rev. Robert E. Chavers said Sunday as the Shannons celebrated a half-century in business with a prayer service and dinner at Wheatland American Legion Post 432.

Hundreds of friends, family and community members gathered to wish Wilbert well.

“Praise God for your integrity and humanity,” Barbara Blue-Harold said of the man she knew as a surrogate father. “You have been a blessing in my life.”

Shannon was lauded for his no-nonsense, honest approach to life. He doesn’t waste words and means what he says.

“He’s kind of grumpy, ain’t he?” the Rev. Geraldine Williams joked about the man of the hour.

The pastor of Ruth African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church in Sharon, said she’s grown to love Shannon and respect the high standards that he sets for his job.

“He’s a person you can rely on,” Rev. Williams said. “He is an individual who is easy to get along with as long as you do what he tells you.”

A native of Cheraw, S.C., Shannon was a toddler when — like dozens of other families — they moved from Cheraw to Farrell in the 1930s so his dad could work in the steel mills.

He was on the 1952 state championship basketball team and played with Farrell legend and fellow Cheraw native Julius McCoy.

For families in Farrell with Cheraw ties there’s only one place to turn when it comes time to plan a homecoming or funeral: Shannon’s. Since 1965, the funeral home has been tucked into the hillside above Broadway Avenue at Hamilton.

Shannon stood quietly and smiled from time to time as the well-wishers kept coming to the microphone with a tidbit about him: how he’d got them through a tough time or held a funeral and asked questions about money later or just was there to offer a word of wisdom when it was needed.

“There’s a lot of things I could say,” Shannon said.

He talked about a card with the poem “Footprints” on it that moved him, and the calls from people thanking him that have meant a lot over the years. He talked about how his faith has helped him through tough times, “when you stumble, that’s when God hears you,” he said.

Sometimes planning the services for someone he loved is “kind of tough,” he said.

“When I go into a home and hear a whisper, ‘Everything’s going to be all right now.” ’ it’s gratifying, he said.

Text Only
Local News
  • State cuts trickle down to township

    Brookfield Township “is in a world of hurt.”

    February 9, 2012

  • Toth takes $30k to settle lawsuit

    It’s typical for lawsuit settlement agreements to include a confidentiality clause that bars the parties from discussing the terms of the settlement.

    February 9, 2012

  • Taking flight

    Some kids probably daydream about sending their homework up into the atmosphere, but that really happened this week for a few classes of Jamestown Area High School students.

    February 9, 2012

  • GC man called suspect in Jan. 27 bank robbery

    A Grove City man charged with robbing a Zelienople bank Monday is a suspect in the Jan. 27 robbery of a Sandy Lake bank.

    February 8, 2012

  • Committee to focus on finances for future

    Sharon city leaders have money on their minds as they look to the future of the once-vibrant town struggling with a limited tax base and higher costs of doing business.

    February 8, 2012

  • Summer work turns into year-round part-time job

    A Sharpsville resident asked council members this week why the man hired as summer help is still on the payroll in the middle of winter.

    February 8, 2012

  • Police ask public to be their eyes

    Officials and residents of Farrell and Sharon discussed the good things and problems in their towns, and heard how a neighborhood that faced a similar situation fought back Tuesday at the second Taking Back Our City meeting.

    February 8, 2012

  • Labor Dept.: Franchise’s workers not paid properly

    The owners of the Brookfield Subway restaurant have been paying their employees less than minimum wage, shorting them on overtime pay and violating child labor laws for two years, a federal lawsuit alleges.

    February 7, 2012

  • Insecurity: Firm loses more local clients

    Reynolds Area School District is scrambling to find people to work security at upcoming games after finding out the Pittsburgh-area security firm they were using had some guards who were convicted felons or sex offenders.
    “That was a shock, believe me,” said school board President John Lowry.

    February 7, 2012

  • School budget predictions improve

    The upshot to planning for a worst-case scenario is it makes any change an improvement.
    Such is the case with Farrell Area School District’s finances, business manager William Dungee told school board members Monday.

    February 7, 2012