THEN
Shanahan began in a small shop in Lowell, Massachusetts. How small was it? Legend has it Walter Shanahan, the founder, had to put TV’s out on the sidewalk so he could stand at his service bench. Moreover, his first sound truck was bigger than his first shop. In 1951, he established Shanahan Radio & Television Service.
During the next three decades Shanahan became one of the largest sales and service centers in Massachusetts, surviving monumental changes in the consumer electronics and commercial sound industries. Shanahan progressed with the revolution in transistors, embraced digital technologies and thrived by keeping the focus on customer service.
NOW
Under the leadership of Walter’s daughter, Catherine, Shanahan is wholly committed to commercial sound design and video design as well as installation and service. We’re proud of the strong, enduring relationships we’ve built with clients in religious organizations, corporations, health care facilities, colleges, manufacturing plants and high-end homes. These relationships are based on our commitment to provide top-quality equipment, responsive customer service and support and an unmatched attention to detail.
How has Shanahan grown? Happily. Today Shanahan is as big as the big picture, as small as the simplest detail, and not nearly as important as a satisfied customer.
OUR FOUNDER
Walter F. Shanahan opened Shanahan Radio and Television in 1951 with a strong commitment to his customers. They were his number one priority, and that’s something that hasn’t changed in 60 years. Read on for a tribute to Walter, along with a personal tribute from his daughter, and Shanahan President, Catherine Shanahan.
Walter Frederick Shanahan
(November 5, 1919 – December 9, 2009)
Walter F. Shanahan died peacefully, surrounded by loved ones, at his home in Lowell, Wednesday, December 9, 2009. He was 90 years of age. He was the husband of the late Mary Caroline (Leduc) Shanahan of Graniteville, MA and the son of the late Agnes (O’Connell) Shanahan and Walter Cornelius Shanahan. Born November 5, 1919, he was a lifelong resident of the Greater Lowell area. Mr. Shanahan was a 1938 graduate of Lowell High, received an associate degree and Master’s certificate from Franklin Technical Institute in 1948, and earned a teaching certificate from Fitchburg State College in later life. An aviation
radioman first class in WWII, he was honorably discharged from the United States Navy in August 1945 after enlisting in and serving for three years, two of which were spent in the North African theatre flying on PBYs. He was a disabled veteran of that war. In 1951 he co-founded, with his beloved wife Caroline, Shanahan Electronic Services, Inc. where he was known as “the Man with the Bowtie”; the business continues to operate in the Highlands section of Lowell to this day, as Shanahan Sound and Electronics, Inc.
Active statewide in the electronics industry, Mr. Shanahan was instrumental in generating legislation for licensure of electronics technicians in the state of Massachusetts and was one of the first to obtain licensure. He was a lifelong learner and promoted statewide requirements for continuing education credits for re-licensure and consistently maintained his own CEUs at Boston University and Franklin Technical Institute. He was a founding member of the Massachusetts Electronics Technicians Guild (ETG) and a president of the Lowell chapter. Mr. Shanahan was very active in the Lowell business community and in business and community organizations.
In 1979, he retired from Shanahan Electronics to begin his next career-as a “tough but much loved” teacher of electronics at the Greater Lowell Regional Vocational School, where he continued his reputation for excellence. He taught until he retired, again, in 1990. By 1996, at the age of 78, he was ready for yet another career, realizing a lifelong dream he and his wife of 51 years, who passed away in 1993, had shared-opening an antiques shop. An inveterate collector, especially of lighting parts, pieces and fixtures, he opened Ye Olde Light Shoppe in Lowell. For the next twelve years, he collected and sold antiques, repaired lamps and electrical equipment-a lost and dying service, and with great artistry created elaborate chandeliers and lighting fixtures for architects, interior designers and private individuals. Only within the last few months of his life did he stop going to his shop at least once a week. Mr. Shanahan loved music and had a wonderful tenor voice. He sang at every opportunity and instilled his love of music and singing in his children.
Mr. Shanahan is survived by three daughters and five sons, nine grandchildren,
and nine great-grandchildren, all of whom, along with 100 friends and family, celebrated his life and his 90th birthday with him on November 28, 2009-an event he called “magnificent!” His survivors are Maryanne Shanahan, of Camden, ME, and her husband William C. Amidon; Walter Timothy Shanahan, of Derry, NH, and his wife, Carol A. Shanahan; Kevin D. Shanahan, of Lowell; Daniel J. Shanahan, of Simi Valley, CA, and his wife Teresa A. Shanahan; Catherine A. Shanahan, of Lowell, and her partner, Michael J. Manfreda; Margaret C. Shanahan, of Lowell, and her partner, Ahmad Radey Shouman; William F. Shanahan, of Apex, NC, and his wife Stacey A. Shanahan; Patrick M. Shanahan, of Claremont, FL, and his wife Billie Sue Shanahan. Grandchildren and their families: Timothy J. Shanahan and his wife Karen L. Shanahan, of Raymond, NH, and their children, Kalena and Joseph; Erin Shanahan Bajger and her husband Stephen Bajger, of Newmarket, NH, and their children, Mackenzie, Jakob and Nickolaus; Walter Ryan Shanahan, of Plaistow, NH, and his wife Mara L. Shanahan; Rebecca Shanahan Galligani and her husband Stephen Galligani, of Lowell, and their children, Kevin and Angelina; Daniel Adam Shanahan, of Simi Valley, CA, and his partner Shaylene Dorman, and their son, Brendan; Kaitlin M. Shanahan, of Simi Valley, CA, and her daughter Riley Karoline; Joseph W. Shanahan and Michael P. Shanahan, of Simi Valley, CA; and Jaymie Shanahan, of Apex, NC. Additional members of the Daniel J. Shanahan family: Kyle R Cohen, Jacob P. Cohen, and Frank R. Cohen, all of Simi Valley, CA..
Mr. Shanahan also is survived by his cherished companion of nearly five years, Elizabeth Donovan, of Chelmsford; sisters-in-law Shirley Shanahan of Chelmsford and Lorraine Leduc, of Westford; brother-n-law John Tarrant, of Sun City, FL; cousins Elizabeth Holton and Florence Holton, of Lowell; nine nieces and nephews and 24 grandnieces and grandnephews.
Walter Shanahan was loved by all who knew him. He was hero to his children and grandchildren, “brave and loveable” to his great- grandchildren, surrogate father to many of his nieces and nephews, mentor and teacher, and always there when any one of his family or his friends needed him. He gave the gift of love to everyone whom his life touched, and in his full and active life he touched many.
On Wednesday December 9, 2009, we said goodbye to a business leader and true gentleman – the founder of Shanahan Sound and Electronics, Inc., and my father, Walter F. Shanahan. In tribute I want to share a bit about our history and about the man who gave Shanahan Sound and Electronics the culture of service and innovation that exists to this day.
In 1951, my father started Shanahan Radio and Television in a small shop in
Lowell, MA. When customers could not bring their televisions or radios into the shop, Dad would go to them. Quickly establishing himself for his dedication to customers and his knowledge of electronics, he became the first to offer in-home service in the area. Legend has it that his “service vehicle” was larger than his shop.
As kids, my older siblings recall seeing televisions on the sidewalk in front of the shop so Dad would have enough room on his repair bench to work. Nothing prevented him from getting the job done and as a result, Shanahan Radio and Television became widely known through word of mouth and grew into one of the largest sales and service centers in Massachusetts.
A natural businessman and marketer, he blazed his own trail. He would place ads in the paper or in the shop windows with a deliberately misspelled word to see what, and if, people were reading. When someone would come into the store to tell him about the misspelling, he would thank them, engage them in conversation and more often than not sell them a new television or radio. When the store’s interior was destroyed in a 1960 Christmas Day fire and the windows had yet to be repaired, Dad’s unstoppable spirit could be seen in his advertising, which he changed to say, “Come to the store with the wooden windows.” It was memorable and it worked.
During his wake and funeral, I heard so many stories about him. Everyone told me what a gentleman he was: a man who commanded respect without demanding it, a man always known as Mr. Shanahan. One of his local competitors, Jerry Soucy, shared a story that embodies so much of who my father was. Years ago when multiple dealers were on a business junket to Puerto Rico (having won trips for product sales), the engine of the plane caught fire on takeoff and everyone had to return to their hotels and stay an extra night. By the time Jerry and his wife Eileen got back to the hotel all the rooms were taken. Eileen was 7 ½ months pregnant and exhausted. My father, without hesitation, went across the lobby and gave his room to the couple. He took no money for the room and to this day no one knows where my dad and mom stayed that evening.
Shanahan Sound is still in business today because of the foundation Walter Shanahan laid. As technology changed and progressed, he realized the importance of staying at the forefront of these changes. As an organization, we moved from tube amplifiers to transistor radios to embracing today’s digital technologies – staying current with monumental changes in the fast-paced consumer electronics and commercial sound, and video market. He was creative, he was innovative and he always made an impression. For years after his retirement in 1979, people would come into the shop asking for “the man in the bowtie.”
He will be missed by many. In business and in life he leaves a strong legacy and will be remembered fondly for all that he has done for Shanahan Sound but mostly for all that he was to me and my seven brothers and sisters – a loving father.
As his daughter, I began each day with my father telling me to, “Make it a good one and take it careful.” I will sorely miss my best consultant, lifelong champion and biggest cheerleader.
Sincerely,
Catherine Shanahan
President, Shanahan Sound and Electronics
In Loving Memory of Walter F. Shanahan
November 5, 1919 – December 9, 2009
We would love to hear from you.
978.453.1556
Mon - Fri. 9:00 am - 5:30 pm
Shanahan Sound
489 Westford St.
Lowell, MA 01851
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Sound and Video System Experts serving New England including MA, NH, RI, ME, CT, and VT since 1951. Shanahan works directly with IT staff, facilities managers, architects, project managers, building committees, board members and music directors to create state-of-the-art, acoustically sound, audio and video environments.
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