Shannon Lynn Tallman, 47

Shannon Lynn Tallman of Whitefish passed away Dec. 4, 2005.

She was born in Polson on Dec. 11, 1957, while her dad was serving time with the U.S. Marine Corps in Okinawa. When he came home the following November, the family moved to Whitefish. Shannon was the first of the four Tallman kids and the leader of the pack who grew up on the east shore of Whitefish Lake with their golden retrievers, cats and a collection of other animals. It was an idyllic life of lazy summers on the water and ski racing in the winter.

Shannon became an accomplished artist, actor and writer, and she loved modern dance. She graduated from Whitefish High School and spent the next year at the Mendocino Art Institute in California. She continued her studies in Montana and Oregon and ultimately enrolled at the Desert Institute in Tucson, Ariz., where she graduated as a massage therapist.

She spent her life helping people and caring for animals. She was a volunteer in the early years of the Whitefish Food Bank and worked as a volunteer at the spay-neuter clinic for cats and dogs.

When her son, Jesse, was born in 1990, he became the center of her life. She taught him to enjoy all the things she had learned as a child of Montana, and she was always there to cheer for him as an athlete and as her best friend.

Shannon's strength in her battle with depression has earned the respect of all who knew and loved her. She had the power to heal everyone but herself.

She leaves her love with Jesse Strunk, her son; her dad, Gary Tallman, and her mom, Jeanne Tallman; her sisters, Kim James and Heather Tallman Ruhm; and brother, Brett Tallman.

Her messages of love go to all other family members and all the friends she valued and trusted.

We will gather to celebrate Shannon's life at 3 p.m. Friday, Dec. 9, at Christ Lutheran Church in Whitefish.

Buffalo Hill Funeral Home is caring for the family.