Philip J. Shannon, Jr

Philip J. Shannon, Jr., 72, retired co-founder and CEO of loan software firm Online Financial Corporation and president of the Philip and Mary Shannon Foundation, died suddenly on December 30 at his home on Lake Lanier. Services will be held 2:00 pm on Wednesday, January 5 at St. Peter Chanel Catholic Church in Roswell, Georgia with the Reverend Father Peter Rau officiating.

Mr. Shannon was born April 24, 1938 in Bayonne, New Jersey. He graduated in 1960 with a degree in business from Seton Hall University, with which he started his career in the emerging technology industry first as a systems manager for Olivetti of America, then as sales manager of Docutel Corporation. In 1984, Mr. Shannon moved from Bernardsville, New Jersey to Atlanta, Georgia with his family to cofound the pioneering Online Financial Corporation with his good friend, the late Jack Wells. The innovative programs written by Mr. Wells and sold by Mr. Shannon are still used in banks in nearly all of the fifty states today. Mr. Shannon never fully retired. After selling his company in 1992, he embarked upon ventures that took him all over the world, in the service of family, neighbor, and God. Mr. Shannon was an ardent believer in education. He acted on Seton Hall University's Board of Regents, during which time he established the Philip and Mary Shannon Foundation, providing multiple student scholarships and presenting the Philip and Mary Shannon Speaker Series in partnership with Seton Hall's School of Diplomacy and International Relations. From 2001 to 2004, the speaker series featured New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman; presidential historians Michael Beschloss, Robert Caro, Doris Kearns Goodwin, and David McCollough, and former president of the Soviet Union and Nobel Prize winner Mikhail S. Gorbachev. Mr. Shannon's favorite pastime was boating with family and friends, most recently in the Florida Keys, where he was a member of the advisory board of Mote Marine Laboratory and founder of the grassroots, activist planning group, "Citizens Not Serfs." This most recent campaign, on which he was working at the time of his death, advocates for the environmental preservation of the Florida Keys. Mr. Shannon was an active parishioner of The Church of Good Shepherd, Cumming, Georgia, and St. Peter, Big Pine Key, Florida.

Loving survivors include his wife of 46 years, Mary Jean McMahon, Cumming, Georgia. In addition, he is survived by his son David, daughter-in-law Julie, granddaughters Audrey and Lily, Milton, Georgia; son Liam, daughter-in-law Laura, granddaughters Abigail, Olivia, and Fiona, Atlanta, Georgia; son Eamon, daughter-in-law Jennifer, grandson Finn, Honolulu, Hawaii; and daughter Brettany, Los Angeles, California. He is also survived by sister Rita, North Arlington, New Jersey.

Family will receive friends 6:00 to 8:00 pm Tuesday at the McDonald & Son Funeral Home & Crematory in Cumming. Please refer to mcdonaldandson.com and stpeterchanel.org for directions. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Catholic Relief Services at crs.org.