Arthur Walter Shannon, Jr.

Dr. Arthur W. Shannon, Jr.

Born Nov. 15, 1922, Wharton, Texas

Died Nov. 14, 2019, Dallas, Texas

Arthur Shannon was born in November 15,1922 in Wharton, Texas to Nina Neal and Arthur W. Shannon, Sr., died one day shy of his 97^th birthday, as a 6^th generation Texan.

He was married to Leila Houseman Shannon for 65 years.  They have 3 children, Don, wife, Marcia; Caroline, husband, Palmer McArthur and Leila, husband Jamie Cornelius.  Nine grandchildren, Donelson, William and Robert Shannon, Palmer, Shannon, Peter and Sam McArthur and Leila Cornelius Redwine and Carlton Cornelius, and nine great-grandchildren which he adored!

Arthur was very active in his Sunday School Class at Park Cities Baptist Church in Dallas.  He regularly either telephoned or went to visit his children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, nieces, nephews, cousins, friends, and sister, Ann Smith. He was predeceased by his younger sister, Nina Montgomery Tuttle. 

Arthur worked hard his entire life, until his retirement at age 79.

In Grammar school, he worked delivering Special Delivery Letters during lunch and recess for the Post Office, on his bicycle.  In High School, he worked for the County, building and repairing roads, starting work on the first day of summer vacation and stopping the day before school began again.  After graduating from Wharton High School, he went to the University of Texas in Austin at age 16.  He joined the ATO fraternity with his cousin, Thurman Clements.  While in college, he worked at the Dow Chemical Plant analyzing salt water, calculating how much chlorine gas and sodium hydroxide it contained. Dow used these compounds for making batteries.  After graduating from UT, he moved to Dallas for medical school. Arthur was in the second graduating class from Southwestern Medical School, from 1942 until 1945, and studied under Dr.Tinsley Harrison the author of Harrison’s Principles of Internal Medicine. In Arthur’s 3^rd year of medical school, he worked at St. Paul Hospital at night in exchange for free room and board. The day after he graduated from Southwestern Medical School, he went into the army and was sent to Ft. Lewis outside of Seattle, Washington.  At Ft. Lewis, he and 2 other doctors gave the first flu shots, 10,000+ shots, over 3 to 10 days to all the soldiers.  He later transferred into the Navy Public Health Service Department which is the medical department of the Coast Guard, near the Houston Ship Channel, to finish up his military service. Arthur then, came back to Dallas and worked for six months at Gaston Hospital, (now Baylor Rehab facility).  While serving in the Public Health Service, Arthur learned of a General Surgery residency in Houston.  From July 1948 until July 1950, he did his residency at Jeff Davis Hospital in Houston under Dr. Michael DeBakey, the renowned heart surgeon. The day after finishing his residency in Houston, he returned to Dallas and began a Urology residency at Parkland Hospital.  Upon completion, Arthur  joined the Southwest Clinic and practiced as a Urology Surgeon for 17. He later, went into private practice and practiced medicine until he retired at the age of 79 at Baylor Hospital.

Arthur Shannon was loved by many, known for telling a good story that would make you laugh, and will be greatly missed by all.  His Memorial Service will be on Friday, December 6, 2019 at 3 pm in Ellis Chapel at Park Cities Baptist Church.

In leiu of flowers, memorials may be made to:

First Baptist Church of Wharton www.fbcwharton.com,  507 N. Fulton St, Wharton, Texas 77488

 or

Park Cities Baptist Church, www.pcbc.org, 3933 Northwest Parkway, Dallas, TX 75225