Obituary of Norval Shannon

Norval Eugene "Mike" Shannon was born October 1, 1926, to Lossie Martin "LM" Shannon and Edith May (Wilmoth) Shannon in Eugene, Oregon. Norv and his three siblings grew up in Springfield, where he got his early education. There was a whole world to conquer, so 'early' seemed good enough and he set off at about 15 to see the world. His travels took him across America, working for a while for his keep in California and later at a ranch in Kansas, all the way to New York, but eventually he found his way back to the Pacific Northwest. He worked setting chokers in the woods. He lied about his age to get a job driving water truck during construction of the Hanford Nuclear Project. He worked on liberty ships in the Portland shipyards. Norv turned 18 during WWII, joined the Merchant Marines and ended up being honorably discharged by the U. S. Coast Guard, having served in the Atlantic and Pacific, from Germany to the Philippines. He was aboard a ship that ran aground in Japan and the crew spent almost a year living there during the extensive repairs. He worked hard, but always in between he fished. Always. He met his other great love, Barbara Jane "Bobbie" Guggisberg, when she literally danced into his life. They won first place in a jitterbug contest in 1947 before marrying in June 1948. Within a few years they settled in at Cabin City Auto Camp on River Road in Eugene, raising their two daughters. While Bobbie managed the rental cabins and trailer park, Norv worked midnights laying peeler core at U. S. Plywood. They saved enough money to buy a surplus WWII steel-hulled lifeboat and begin a fishing career at Winchester Bay. "The slowest boat in the fleet," he said, but by being the first boat out and the last boat in, summer weekends, vacations and every mill shutdown became a way to earn extra money commercial fishing. They soon saw more potential in charter fishing, gambled everything they had, and Shamrock Charters was born. With Norv running three four-hour salmon fishing trips daily and Bobbie running Shannon's Sport Shop, they were quite a team. A knack with people and a knack for catching salmon were eventually parlayed into a living and three boats: Shamrock, Shamrock II and the Bobbie J. Fall brought hunting season for deer, elk and birds, often in Eastern Oregon. In the winter Norv guided for steelhead, rowing his old-school wooden drift boat on the Umpqua, Sixes and Elk Rivers. When aluminum boats became popular and the rivers got crowded, he hung up his oars and started heading south for the winter to Cabo San Lucas. With Bobbie by his side until her death in 1999, he continued fishing the waters of Winchester Bay and Cabo, including this past winter. The family is forever in debt to friends and neighbors for all of their help in recent years. He couldn't have done it without you. Norval passed away on November 28, 2019, in Eugene after a stroke at the age of 93. He was preceded by his older brother Melvin Wilmoth Shannon and his younger sister Freda Mae Edblom. He is survived by his daughter Leanne and David Meer, daughter Lynnae and Bruce Harris, twin sister Norma Jean Holtz, grandson Benjamen and Jessica Harris, grandson Byron and Kim Harris, and great-grandchildren Ryder, Raquelle, Bella, Easton and Harper Harris. Arrangements by Musgrove Family Mortuary. To share a memory of Norv or send a condolence to his family please visit www.musgroves.com. A Celebration of Life will be held on Saturday, December 14, at 2:00pm at the Fairfield Church of the Nazarene, 1052 Fairfield Avenue, Eugene, Oregon. In lieu of flowers, take someone fishing.