John Shanaghan Passes Away at Age 97

John Shanaghan, 97, of East Haddam, husband of the late Catherine (Kaminski) Shanaghan, died Tuesday at Chestelm Healthcare after a brief illness.

John was born in Bayonne, New Jersey on April 8, 1914, son of the late Edward and Anna (Veydovec) Shanaghan. He moved to Connecticut with his parents when he was 8 years old. 

He served a three year tour of duty with the U.S. Army, seeing action in Africa and Italy, and was a member of the American Legion and VFW.

Prior to his retirement, John worked for the U.S. Postal Service, 17 years as a postal clerk in Moodus, and 20 years as Postmaster in East Haddam. In addition, John helped his parents run Shanaghan's Mount Parnassus View resort for many years.

John was a member of the East Haddam Volunteer Fire Department since 1932, serving as Assistant Fire Chief from 1947 to 1969 and as Fire Chief from 1969 to 1982. John served as East Haddam Fire Marshal from 1975 to 1996. 

John was inducted into the Connecticut State Firefighters Association Hall of Fame in 2010.

John was a member of the Fire House Building Committee that supervised the construction of the Town Street fire house. John was a member of the Connecticut Firefighters Memorial Committee and was a member of the committee that established the Colchester Emergency Communications Center that currently provides 911 service to East Haddam and surrounding towns. 

John was also a member of the High School Building Committee.

John was active in numerous organizations including: the New England Association of Fire Chiefs, Inc.; the International Association of Fire Chiefs; the Connecticut Fire Chief's Association (President 1980-1981); the Middlesex County Fire Chiefs' Association, Inc (President 1971-1972); the Middlesex County Fire Police Association; the Connecticut Fireman's Historical Society, Inc. (charter member); the New England Association of Fire Marshals (charter member); the Connecticut State Firefighters' Irregulars Association; The Hundred Club of Connecticut; the National Association of Postmasters of the United States; and the National Association of Retired Federal Employees.

John is survived by his son, John Edward Shanaghan, a sister, Ann Bantle and a niece Gale Cummings all of East Haddam.

The Funeral Liturgy will be held Saturday at 10 a.m. at Saint Bridget Church in Moodus. A military honors burial will be held at Saint Bridget Cemetery at a later date.

In lieu of flowers, those who wish may send memorial contributions to Saint Bridget Church, P.O. Box 22, Moodus, CT 06469