Shannon Marshall Harrison

May 3, 1945-March 20, 2023

Shannon was born in Dallas, Texas to Jesse (Jaye) Ardath Doss and Charlie Livingston Harrison. He was the only child of his father's three brothers. The family history goes back to the founding of the Republic of Texas: Jonas Burford Harrison, an attorney, was a friend of Gen. Sam Houston and wrote for him the "Rules of Engagement" Which later became the early constitution of the State of Texas. Re. Andrew Shannon Hayter, A Cumberland Presbyterian minister, founded the city of Arlington, Texas. In Texas there is a Harrison County with its county seat being, Marshall.

Shannon graduated from Woodrow Wilson H.S. in 1963 in Dallas. He began Southern Methodist University with two years of accelerated credits from High School. Being underchallenged by SMU, he moved to Austin, TX in 1964 to attend classes at the University of Texas until he decided to enlist in the US Army in 1966 to learn to be a medical corpsman. Further training in Tacoma, WA at Madigan Army Medical Center sent him to South Vietnam from 1969-70.

In 1970 Shannon Married his longtime church and school friend Catherine Rice in Dallas. There he worked as an LPN at Baylor Hospital while he took a few courses at SMU, then took the MCATS and made a 97th percentile so he was allowed to apply to medical schools without an undergraduate degree.

In 1972 he and Cathy moved to San Antonio for him to be a member of the first graduating class from the University of Texas Health Sciences Medical School there. During these four years the Army made him an officer.

In 1976 They moved to Tacoma, again to Madigan, for Shannon's internship and residency. In 1979 Shannon was accepted for a fellowship in infectious diseases at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, DC while Cathy went to Austin, TX for her last two years of Presbyterian seminary.

In 1981 they returned to Madigan for Shannon to be the chief of infectious diseases. In 1983 the Army asked him to go to Kenya, East Africa to work on a project involving sleeping sickness patients. 1985 saw them return to the USA to Denver, CO to set up the Army's premiere clinic for HIV/AIDS patients and dependents. From Denver, Shannon accepted his last active duty assignment in San Antonio at Fort Sam Houston at the Brooke Army Medical Center as Chief of Infectious Diseases and consultant to the Army Surgeon General for clinical research. He retired from the Army in 1995, and they moved to Wyoming where he set up a private practice in Jackson Hole, and he was also the Director of Health for the State of Wyoming.

in 2003, Debbie Birx, a former medical student of Shannon's, asked him to consider working for the Henry M Jackson Foundation for the advancement of Military Medicine in the project in East Africa working on HIV/AIDS, if his wife would go with him and work with hospice training and orphan care. Of course, they went! December 2007 saw them returning to the USA to Spokane, WA. Where they continued to live.

They enjoyed Spokane, especially participating with Bethany Presbyterian Church and playing his clarinet in the New Horizons Orchestra.

Shannon worked in many hospitals before settling in at the Spokane VA Hospital for six and a half years and later working as an adjunct professor to the medical school in Tuscon, AZ spending one week a month there. As COVID came along it meant lot of Zoom consulting not traveling.

He enjoyed his consulting until mid January 2023 when he had a difficult time sitting at the computer and focusing on the questions. He continued talking with his friends Vijay and Carlos in the USA and Fons in the Netherlands. He died in the wonderful care of the VA Hospital of Spokane from an Agent Orange cancer that finally set him up for another cancer from the appendix to the liver which was very, very aggressive.

Shannon is survived by his wife of 52 years, friend of 73 years, Cathy, and many cousins in and from Texas, sisters-in-law, Carol in Kansas and Cindy in Washington, and niece, Franji in WA and Daniel in TX and so very many friends and colleagues.

Thank you, God, for the blessing of this wonderful child of God who touched so many lives and many, many people he was able to teach and encourage in teaching other in the learning from them, his 4th love. Thank you, God.

A celebration of life service will be held for Shannon on May 6 at 10am in Spokane at Knox Presdyterian Church 806 W Knox Ave. with a reception to follow. In Lieu of flowers, please make a donation to your favorite ministry or charity.