Obituary of William Francis Shanahan

William Francis Shanahan (1951-2018) Bill Shanahan knew what injustice was when he saw it, and, as his many friends have said, he wouldn't put up with it. He stood up. If he was by himself when he stood up that didn't stop him. He would just call upon others to join him; often they did, sometimes they didn't. Bill Shanahan had political self-respect, a characteristic that Martin Luther King, Jr. described as a “sense of somebodiness.” He got that from growing up in a tight knit South Philadelphia Irish-Italian neighborhood and from his deep love of history, his Irish heritage, his knowledge of poetry and music and his understanding of community. After graduating from Bishop Neumann High School in 1969, Bill enlisted as a medic in the Air Force, married Patricia Campbell and had his first daughter, Autumn. After being honorably discharged two years later, he worked briefly as a longshoreman in Philadelphia before traveling west by himself to Ellensburg, Washington. In Ellensburg, he worked for the next three years as a field hand on a ranch owned by Roger Sparks. Roger Sparks was also a Kittitas County Public Utility District Commissioner. It was during this time that Bill learned about Washington state's public power history and its primary institution of local energy control, the Public Utility District. Having divorced his first wife, Bill married Vikki Voss in Shelton in 1978, rented a home on Mason Lake Road and by 1981 they had three children, Forest, Dylan and Willow. In 1982, they moved to Harstine Island and began renovating an old schoolhouse, which had been converted to a private dwelling after the Harstine bridge had been built. During this time, Bill was busy working as a tree planter for Simpson timber, learning the craft of boat-building in Seattle and working as a carpenter with Mike Olsen on home remodels. Bill was also busy with something else. When he came to Shelton, he noticed the two nuclear plants under construction at Satsop in Grays Harbor county. He saw how those plants contradicted the work of the Mason County Energy Education Group that he had formed to promote energy conservation. He also saw something else. Something that few people understood in the late 1970s: the connection between those nuclear plants and the state's twenty one electric Public Utility Districts. This led Bill Shanahan to stand up. In 1980, he ran for a seat on the Mason County #3 Public Utility District. He didn't win, but that didn't stop him. He had other weapons: writing, speaking, organization, and movement building. Within three years the whole state was standing with him in a ratepayer revolt against the misuse of Public Utility Districts to build needless nuclear plants. Bill's accomplishments for the next three years set the energy policy of this state for years to come. He spoke at massive ratepayer rallies across the state, started the Mason PUD Owners Association, got Bob Olsen, the first anti-WPPSS commissioner, appointed to the Mason PUD. Recalled two Mason PUD commissioners at once in 1983, helped create summits in Olympia that brought together groups from all over the state, was a leader of Progress Under Democracy and remained a trusted adviser to the new PUD commissioners, Harvey Warnaca and John Whalen, through the 1980s. All of this led to the termination of four of the five proposed nuclear power plants. When people drive pass those two abandoned towers at Satsop, they should say a prayer for Bill Shanahan. Besides his focus on conservation and energy politics, Bill was also committed to public education and the teaching of history. He received both his B.A. and his Masters in Teaching from The Evergreen State College and served on the Board of the Pioneer School District in 1989. He got his first teaching job at Elma High School in 2004. In 2006, Bill and Vikki took teaching jobs in an international school in Cameroon. After three years, Bill returned to Shelton and continued substitute teaching in the Pioneer School District until 2011. Bill Shanahan was an avid athlete his entire life and transported his athletic fervor from the basketball courts of 2nd and Jackson in Philadelphia to the pickleball courts of Bayshore. He organized, ran, and coached teams for the Mason County Youth Athletic Association (MCYAA) introducing kids to basketball. Bill also loved travel and visited Ireland, Mexico, Jamaica, England, the Philippines and Japan. His most frequent trips, however, were around the Olympic Peninsula where he gained a great appreciation for the natural beauty of the Pacific Northwest. Bill began to have health problems in 2010 when he had his first stroke. He recovered from the stroke but an undiscovered melanoma led to frequent trips to the VA hospital in Seattle over the next several years. In 2011, Bill purchased a new home on Franklin Street in Shelton and began a long distant courtship with Elizabeth Yanson in the Philippines. They were eventually married in Shelton on December 8, 2017. Bill Shanahan died in his home on August 13, 2018 at the age of 67. Bill Shanahan's family and children are holding a celebration of his life at the Harstine Community Club on Saturday, September 8th, from 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm. The Harstine Island Women's Club is providing light food, snacks and drinks. Everyone is welcome to attend. Bring a story. In lieu of flowers please donate to the Mason County HOST Program. The Mason County HOST Program serves homeless youth participating in completing a high school education or GED. Send check or money order to: The Mason County HOST Program 807 W Pine St. Shelton, WA 98584 There will also be a full mass and burial followed by a reception at St. Edwards Catholic Church in Shelton on Saturday, September 22nd, at 11:00 am.