Mrs. Sandra LaVern Shaughnessy

“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith.” 2 Timothy 4:7
Sandra LaVern “Granny” (Dodson) Shaughnessy, 89, passed away Monday, May 30th peacefully at her home in Millican with all her family by her side after a long battle with Alzheimer’s Disease. Visitation with family and friends will be held from 5:00 – 7:00pm, Friday, June 3rd at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Bryan. A parish rosary will follow at 7:00pm. A Funeral Mass will be at 11:00am, Saturday, June 4th, also at St. Josephs, with Monsignor John McCaffrey serving as celebrant. The Rite of Committal will be in the Dodson Family Cemetery in Millican. Arrangements are under the direction of Nobles Funeral Chapel.
Sandra was born on November 15, 1926 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma to Joseph Benjamin and Zerah Jean Dodson. She was a child of the Great Depression and the hard times that she and her family endured greatly impacted the way she lived her life. She began taking care of her younger brother, Benny Joe, at the early age of 5 so her mother could go back to work in the cotton fields. Her father was an ironworker and they moved all over the southern United States to wherever the jobs took them. Two of her favorite places she enjoyed living in were Mobile, Alabama and Corpus Christi, Texas. Years later, Sandra and her father, Ben, owned and operated General Steel Erection Company in Houston, Texas. They worked side by side for many years.
In November 1957 Sandra married Captain John “Jack” Francis Shaughnessy, Jr. of Rye, New York. He was a Captain in the United States Air Force and killed in action in Vietnam in 1963. They had two daughters. When her children were young Sandra and her mother enjoyed taking road trips and going camping. Their travels extended from Southern Mexico all the way to Canada and everywhere in between.
She retired to the family ranch in Millican, where she cared for both of her parents. In 1986 she became a Granny when her granddaughter Sarah was born. Granny is the name she went by from that time on. Sarah was the light of her life and they were inseparable. Granny enjoyed taking trips with Sarah and Julia and her love for the ocean and beach was passed on to both of them.
She was a woman of strong faith and conviction and was a member of St. Joseph Catholic Church in Bryan for many years.
She was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s Disease in 2005 and with her daughter and granddaughter continuously by her side, she fought a long and strong battle. Following the diagnosis, Sandra still led a full and happy life, traveling the countryside with her family. Even in illness, her strong faith and charismatic personality impacted everyone around her.
We would like to thank Dr. Stephen Tseng and his staff for the many years of wonderful and loving care, Dr. Michael Brown for his expert care in treating her Alzheimer’s disease, the nurses and doctors of Hospice Brazos Valley, especially our dedicated nurse, Karen, for their loving and dignified care in the last few months.
A special thanks to all Granny’s caregivers, Mary Dickson, Bonita Simpson, and especially the entire Tovar Family. Without the special love and care given to her by Maria and Amanda Tovar, her last years would not have been as full of joy and happiness as they were. The love and dedication shown to her by her caregivers was beautiful and will not be forgotten.
She was preceded in death by her parents; husband, Jack Francis Shaughnessy, Jr.; brother Benny Joe Dodson; and son-in-law, Bubba Skrivanek.
She is survived by her immediate family including her daughter, Julia Skrivanek; granddaughter and husband Sarah and Darion Comeaux; and great-granddaughter Zerah LaVern Comeaux. She is also survived by sisters-in-law Mary Haney, Anne McNally, and Kay Clarke, brother-in-law, Joe Shaughnessy and many dear friends that helped her on her journey including Tammy Cooke, Bet Batchelor, and her special friends, “the kids she babysat” Amanda, Mario, Salvador and Angel Tovar.