Ronald Myron Shannon, 79, passed away Nov. 26, 2025, at UW Health University Hospital in Madison, Wisconsin, surrounded by his family.
Ronald was born Oct. 12, 1946, in Reedsburg, Wisconsin, the second of Byron and Ileen Shannon’s three sons. He graduated from Reedsburg High School in 1964. He attended college in Sioux City, Iowa, for one year before attending the Sauk County Teachers College in Reedsburg for two years.
There he met Priscilla Sue Smith, whom he married after graduation. The couple wed July 15, 1967, at Reedsburg United Methodist Church. The ceremony was officiated by the Rev. Virgil Holmes and attended by Smith’s sister, Polly, and Ronald’s older brother, Russell.
The newlyweds moved to Kenosha County and began teaching at Bristol Consolidated School. Their first son, Casey, was born in 1972 while the couple lived near Silver Lake, Wisconsin. They purchased a home in Wheatland Township shortly after their second son, Justin, was born in 1977.
Ronald taught fifth grade at Bristol. While teaching, he attended the University of Wisconsin-Parkside in Kenosha and earned a bachelor’s degree. The Ronalds traveled each summer, visiting all but one of the lower 48 states and spending the summer of 1984 in Alaska.
After teaching for 35 years, the couple retired from the Bristol School in 2002. In the fall of 2009, they sold their home in Wisconsin and moved to Ridgway, Colorado. Ronald enjoyed the outdoors, particularly off-roading in the mountains, photographing landscapes and wildlife, fishing and hiking. He also collected and played Native American flutes.
Ronald moved to Richland Center, Wisconsin, in 2020 but spent the majority of his final years in Gunnison with friends.
Ronald was preceded in death by his wife and his parents. He is survived by his son Casey, his wife, Angela, and their children, Elizabeth Linda Sue Shannon, Emma Suzanne Shannon and Finn Killian Shannon, of Richland Center; grandchildren Scott and Samantha Stubley; his son Justin, of Richland Center; his brother Russell Shannon and his wife, Barbara, of Richland Center; his brother William Shannon and his wife, Joyce, of New Albany, Indiana; 11 nieces and nephews; and 12 grandnieces and grandnephews.
A memorial service will be held in Richland Center. The date has not been announced. The Pratt Funeral and Cremation Service is assisting the family.
