Dr. Carol A. Shannon

Dr. Carol Ann Shannon, 82, beloved wife, mother, and grandmother passed away peacefully on April 18, 2025, surrounded by her family.

Carol was born on March 25, 1943, in Jackson, Michigan, to the late Anne and John Shannon. In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by her sister, Jacquelyn Shannon.

She spent her childhood in Michigan Center, Michigan, where she attended Michigan Center High School. A bright and curious student, Carol felt called to nursing early in life and graduated from the Mercy School of Nursing in Ann Arbor, Michigan. She served in many roles throughout her nursing career, including Operating Room Nurse Supervisor and Nurse Practitioner. Her lifelong love of learning then led her to earn her bachelor’s degree from Mary Baldwin University before pursuing medical school.

Pursuing medicine later in life, Carol flourished academically, graduating at the top of her class from Eastern Virginia Medical School and earning induction into the prestigious Alpha Omega Alpha Medical Honor Society. She went on to complete her residency in Psychiatry at the University of Virginia.

She devoted her professional life to the care of others, serving as a physician at Western State Hospital, the Valley Community Services Board (including Grandview and Greenstone), and the University of Virginia Student Health center.

Carol was a member of Trinity Episcopal Church, the Augusta Garden Club, and the Contemporary Freudian Society. She was also a devoted and enthusiastic University of Michigan fan.

In her free time, Carol loved to travel, scuba dive, garden, relax in the Outer Banks, and, most of all, spend time with her cherished grandchildren.

She is survived by her husband, Jack R. Cowherd; her daughters, Shannon Kellogg Leliveld (Ingmar) and Allison Wall (Stephen); her stepdaughter, Jill Browning (David); her stepson, Eric Cowherd (Mary); and her grandchildren, Kees Leliveld, Annemarieke Leliveld, MiMi Leliveld, Luke Wall, Norah Wall, Emily Morris, Ethan Morris, Carter Morris, Trevor Browning, Rhea Cowherd, and Jonah Cowherd, as well as several great-grandchildren.

The family would like to extend their heartfelt thanks to Baldwin Park and Legacy Hospice for the compassionate care and kindness shown to Carol and her loved ones.

A celebration of life will be held at Trinity Church on Saturday, April 11, at 2:00 p.m., with a reception immediately following.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Carol’s memory to A Place To Be (Music Therapy) in Middleburg, Virginia, or Nature Camp in Vesuvius, Virginia.