Obituary of Shannon Catherine McGiffin

Shannon Catherine McGiffin, 48, of Pinellas Park entered the loving arms of God on October, 12, 2021. She is survived by her mother Sally (Porter) McGiffin; Aunts and Uncles - Maureen (George) Quaglieri, Rick (Diane) McGiffin; Cousins - Mike (Melissa) Quaglieri, Pam (Scott) Zimmerman, Elizabeth (Chelsey) McGiffin; step-grandmother - Katie McGiffin and her 2 cats, Sam and Kk. She was preceded in death by her father, Carey McGiffin.

Shannon was a graduate of the University of South Florida with a degree in psychology and a certification as an Athletic Trainer.

Shannon was passionate about anything in which she took an interest. She was an avid reader, sports fan (particularly the Rays and the Lightening), music enthusiast (singing, dancing, musical theater and the Celtic Thunder vocal group), cooking and baking guru (think Christmas cookies) and cross stitcher.

Approximately 14 years ago Shannon was diagnosed with stage 4 breast cancer. She was treated at Moffitt Cancer Center through out her extensive journey. The staff at Moffitt became part of her extended family as they encouraged her. Special appreciation goes to Dr. Heather Han, Kaitlin Hendricks, the entire staff of the Breast Center, Dr. Gerald Mosiello, the MCR unit, Jolie Filler, and the Neuro-oncology unit. She was a strong woman and a fighter. She took each new treatment or diagnosis with an attitude of “what can we do to beat this?” while rolling down the halls in her pink sparkly wheelchair with the lighted wheels.

Throughout this journey Shannon was strongly supported in love and prayers by her church family who were a constant source of strength and peace for her.

Shannon’s ashes will be scattered at sea at a later date where they will enter the Gulf Stream and she will be able to travel to Ireland and around the world.

If you would like to honor Shannon, please consider making a donation to Moffitt Cancer Center (Moffitt.org) or an animal shelter of your choice. If it had been totally up to Shannon, we would have adopted every cat and kitten in every animal shelter in Pinellas county.