Janet Shannon Obituary

Janet Marie Shannon, 72, of Grand Ledge, passed away in the early hours of March 1, 2025 surrounded by loved ones.
Janet was born December 29, 1952 in Port Huron, Michigan to loving parents, E.C. and Rachel (Phillips) Erno. She spent her youth sitting in trees while reading library books and eating apples, and reveling in her close-knit family with five other siblings. She graduated from Port Huron Catholic High School in 1971; in her junior year, she developed a kidney disease that nearly killed her; following her recovery, she was told she would never have children. She lived another 54 years and had four, who were the lights of her life.
In 1972, Janet married her true love, Gregory–a long-haired hippie she met during a thunderstorm. A bleeds-green Spartan, in 1976, she graduated from Michigan State University with a degree in criminal justice, but ultimately she dedicated her life to the welfare of children in need, working throughout the years at St. Vincent's Home for Children, the Michigan Public Health Institute, and also in Grand Ledge Public Schools as a special education paraprofessional.
Whether out of Catholic guilt or her 1960s sensibilities, Janet was generous with others, but never with herself. She spurned the fancy and ostentatious, favoring the simple and genuine; she cared not for wealth, but substance; she loved newspapers, books, and museums, and rocking her children to sleep while singing the Platters. She appreciated smart people and was sharply smart herself–she loved good-natured pranks, humor, bargains, and spoiling her grandchildren; she was rebellious, but sensitive; gentle, but full of conviction.
In addition to protecting and nurturing children, she loved animals–wild birds, cats, dogs, and chickens. She celebrated weirdos, strangeness, tenderness, and curiosity, and talked to strangers openly. She was skilled at stained glass and crafts, running booths at the MSU Craft Show for many years. She adored Donovan, Gordon Lightfoot, the Moody Blues, cameo jewelry, CBS Sunday Morning, wooden boxes, walks on dirt roads, Atari videogames, fudge, Symphony candy bars, Lake Michigan sunsets, and camping. She had a desire to be around green and growing things, and she filled rooms with balloons at every birthday.
Janet was beautiful, unfailingly, throughout her life. She leaves behind her husband of 53 years, Gregory Shannon of Grand Ledge, but takes with her the decades of flowers he grew for her in their garden.
Janet also leaves behind a daughter, Kelly (Michael) Baribeau of Grand Haven, and three sons: Andrew (Abby) of Manistee, Ryan (Nicole) of Grand Ledge, and Matthew of Grand Ledge. Also surviving her are: her grandchildren, Lee Baribeau, and Sullivan, Summer, and Leda Shannon; her honorary grandchildren, Edyn and Salem VanHaitsma; her siblings, Maureen Docherty of Marysville, Dale Erno of Kimball, Karen (Stephan) Burdick of Dexter, and David (Patti) Erno of Caledonia, as well as her sister-in-law, Marlene Erno of Novi; dear friends, Clara and Mike Daniels of Clyde Township; her beloved siblings-in-law who welcomed her into the Shannon family, and a multitude of adored nieces, nephews, grand nephews, grand nieces, and friends. Janet was preceded in death by her parents, her brother-in-law, Robert Docherty, and by her younger brother, Steven Erno.
Sunday, April 27 at Woldumar Nature Center, 5739 Old Lansing Rd, Lansing, MI, 48917 with visitation from 12 to 2 p.m. and eulogies, readings, and memories shared from 2 p.m. until finished. In lieu of flowers, Janet would have appreciated donations to the Friends of Grand Ledge Area District Library, 131 E. Jefferson Street, Grand Ledge, Michigan 48837 or that you undertake some kind act for a child, an animal, or a person who is lonely.
"Love does not die, people do. So when all that is left of me is love, give me away." –Merritt Malloy