Submitted by Family
George Albert Shannon, 90, passed away peacefully at his home in Pawhuska, Okla., on Feb. 23, 2025, surrounded by his loving family.
George was born in Tulsa at Hillcrest Hospital in 1934 to Lenora Morrell Shannon Hamilton and Claude Shannon. His mother was the first Osage princess of the tribe and she was the first full blood Osage to graduate from Hominy High School.
From an early age, George was a standout athlete and student. He graduated from Hominy High School in 1952 and attended Oklahoma State University. Shortly thereafter he was drafted into the U.S. Army and was stationed in Germany.
He married Mary Agnes Wagoshe Shannon in 1954 and continued his education at the University of Oklahoma, where he obtained a Bachelor of Business Administration in Accounting degree in 1966. He also attended a special program in law through the Bureau of Indian Affairs at the University of New Mexico, School of Law in 1977.
George and Mary Agnes spent 10 years of their marriage beginning in San Francisco, Calif., where he was offered a job with the Crocker Anglo Bank (later to become Wells Fargo). After leaving the bank, the family moved to San Rafael in Marin County where George worked for New York Life. The family was very involved in their community but by 1966 George accepted a job at the Exchange Bank in Santa Rosa, Calif. After two years, the family decided to return to Oklahoma and began to make their home in south Tulsa. George was a vice-president of the Trust Department at the 4th National Bank. Mary Agnes would later pass in 1992.
Throughout his career, he served as a business consultant to various tribes, including the Cherokee, the Muscogee, Choctaw, Miami, Delaware and the Osage. He is responsible for many tribes gaining 8(a) small business designations to qualify for preference in contracting (including the Osage Nation) with the federal government. He served as the tribe’s Tax Commissioner for several years in the 1990s before retiring. He was a 2014 recipient of the AARP’s Indian Elder Honors and at the time of his passing, he was serving his third term on the Nation’s Traditional Cultural Advisors Committee.
George was very active in his Osage traditions and was of the Hominy District. He was roached by the late Chief Paul Pitts when he was 12 years old. His son Allen Shannon was the Hominy Drumkeeper from 1989-1993. He has served on numerous Inlonshka Drumkeeper dance committees and also has his own individual song that is sung every year on Sunday of Hominy Inlonshka. At the time of his passing, he was serving as an advisor to the current Hominy Drumkeeper. He was of the Deer Clan and his Osage name was Wah-Kon-See-A, “When the Deer Herd Looks Up.” He was a member of the Morrell Family Chapter Native American Church.
Later in life he reunited with his high school sweetheart Elnora Supernaw and they made their home in Skiatook for more than 20 years.
George is survived by three daughters, Susan Shannon, Ruth Shaw (Edward) and Margaret Sisk (Robert); five grandchildren, Shannon Shaw Duty (Jason), Lauren Bivens White (Ted), Bates Shaw (Robynn), Edmond Shaw, and Stephen Sisk (Coree); and 13 great-grandchildren. He is also survived by his sister, Mary Shannon Brave.
He is preceded in death by his companion, Elnora Supernaw; grandparents, Bob and Grace Penn Morrell; his parents, Lenora Morrell Shannon Hamilton and Claude Shannon; his wife, Mary Agnes Wagoshe Shannon; his sons, Stanley and Allen Shannon; his daughter, Carolyn Shannon; his granddaughter, Blake Sisk; and two half-brothers, Charles and Claude Shannon Jr.
A rosary will be held at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 25, 2025, at the Wakon Iron Chapel in Pawhuska and will be led by Fr. Nduka; Native American Church singing will follow at 8 p.m. An Osage Service will be held by George Stabler at 8 a.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 26, 2025, at the Wakon Iron Chapel. A Catholic service will follow at 10 a.m. at the Immaculate Conception Catholic Church in Pawhuska. Interment will follow at the Pawhuska City Cemetery. An Osage meal will follow at Wakon Iron Hall in the Pawhuska Indian Village.
Pallbearers will be: Bates Shaw, Stephen Sisk, Edmond Shaw, Jaydin Shaw, George Shaw, Leighton Shaw, Jason Duty, and Robert Sisk.
