Patricia Marie (Guettler) Shaughnessy

It is with profound and abiding sadness that we announce the passing of Patricia Marie Shaughnessy, beloved daughter, sister, wife, mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother. Pat was born in Fort Pierce, Florida to Vincent and Lillian (nee Heitkamp) Guettler and grew up with 12 siblings in a loving and close-knit family that embraced the values of service and compassion, qualities which she exemplified throughout her life. Pat met and married Edgar Francis Shaughnessy of Okeechobee, FLA and started a family that would eventually grow to 8 children, 25 grandchildren and 36 great grandchildren (and still counting!). They lived in Florida, Virginia, and Japan before emigrating in 1971 to Canada where they settled in North Vancouver, B.C. Pat and Ed shared a deep and inspirational love for more than 25 years and were rarely apart until Ed’s untimely passing in 1978.

Pat was a great support to Ed and an exceptionally dedicated mother to their 8 children. Despite the heart-breaking loss of the love of her life at the age of 46, she demonstrated incredible strength and continued throughout her life to create a loving and open-hearted environment for her family and embodied a genuine curiosity about the world around her, especially birds and plants, and about all those who passed through her orbit. Pat lived in a number of other cities in B.C., including Kelowna and Nanaimo, but her final chapter was spent in the loving embrace of her daughter Kathy and son-in-law Jerry at their home in Ladysmith, B.C. She died peacefully on the morning of May 27th, 2024, with her family by her side, holding her hands until the end.

Pat was predeceased by her husband Ed, her parents, and siblings Betty, Gerald, Paul, Jeannie, Dorothy, and Edward. She is survived by a vast extended family including siblings Tootsie (Johnny), Bernie, Margaret (Bruno), Teresa, Kathleen and Karl, and her children Mark (Judy), Maureen (Tim), Peter (Roma), Kathy (Jerry), Margie (Al), Tom, Moira (Brian) and Marybeth (Julian). Pat was a cherished member of every community in which she lived and was fiercely loved. She will be deeply missed and lovingly remembered as a woman of unique kindness, resilience, unconditional love, and the BEST hugs(!), and her legacy will live on through her positive influence on the countless lives she touched.

A service will be held at 1:00pm on September 25th at the Parish of St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Ladysmith, B.C. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to the Covenant House https://www.covenanthouse.org/homeless-shelters/vancouver-canada in Pat's memory.