Jack Prentice Shanley (April 9, 1949 – December 23, 2025)

It is with deep sadness that we announce the passing our beloved relative, Jack Prentice Shanley, on December 23, 2025. He had been living in Kennewick, WA, with his daughter Andrea Shanley-Ortiz, who lovingly cared for him for the last six months of his life as he coped with and finally succumbed to Lou Gehrig's Disease.

Jack was born on April 9, 1949, in Wolf Point, Montana, to Winona Simons Shanley and Ervin James Shanley on the Ft. Peck Reservation. He was an enrolled tribal member of the Nakoda (Assiniboine) Nation of northeast Montana. He grew up in Poplar, MT, but graduated from high school in Williston, N.D., where his mother had moved with the family in 1964.

After high school, Jack moved to Seattle to find work, and it was there that he met and married his wife Susan Cowan, the mother of his two daughters, Kimberley and Andrea. The couple lived in Washington, Idaho, Montana, and North Dakota. Both Jack and Susan attended the University of North Dakota at Grand Forks. After the couple divorced, Jack moved to Tucson, Arizona, to pursue further education at Northern Arizona State. He made his home in the state for the better part of the next thirty-five years.

Throughout his lifetime, Jack worked at many jobs related to the construction and building maintenance and management industry in Washington, Montana, Idaho, North Dakota, and Arizona. He retired in 2018 from working at the Indian Health Service (IHS) hospital in Phoenix, AZ; prior to that he had worked at IHS in Sells, AZ, on the Tohono O'odham Reservation.

Jack's love of the outdoors and hiking led him to embark on many adventures and challenging treks, including his hiking along the Pacific Crest Trail and later the Appalachian Trail. He decided to retire to Lineville, Alabama, both because he liked the area he had come to know from hiking there and because his sister Oney lives there. In his time there, Jack developed many close friendships. He found golf buddies wherever he went, and Alabama was no exception. According to some, Jack had quite a drive. He was also a scuba diver, a mountain climber, and a skier. He both loved being out in nature and enjoyed testing his own strengths and endurance. His niece Angie and brother Mick were his frequent companions on his forays into the world.

Jack was preceded in death by his mother, Winona, his oldest daughter Kimberley Sue, his niece Stacy Steele, and his sister-in-law Janice Wallette. He is survived by his daughter Andrea Shanley-Ortiz; grandsons Joshua Patnaude, Zackary (Annika) Swenson-Shanley, and Brandon Ortiz (Gaby) of Port Angeles, WA; Jack's great-grandchildren: LilyAnne, Dominick, and Kimberley. He's also survived by five siblings: sister Lois Fister Steele (Steve Halvorson) of Tucson, AZ; James Shanley (Nancy Joscelyn) of Wolf Point, MT and Arizona City, AZ; Kathryn Shanley (David Moore) of Missoula, MT; Michael Shanley of Casa Grande, AZ; and Erin "Oney" Shanley of Lineville, AL. Jack also leaves behind many beloved nieces, nephews, cousins, and many cherished friends.

Jack requested there be no ceremony. According to his wishes, his daughter and his siblings will scatter his ashes in places they know he loved with whatever ceremony they find appropriate. If you would like to honor his memory, please feel free to give to the Humane Society or other animal service organizations in his name. Jack loved his cats as well as his daughter's dogs and cat. He would be happy to know that others are caring for lost and injured animals in some small part to honor him. As we reflect on Jack's life, his humor and kindness warm our hearts. We loved him dearly and will miss him sorely, but his strength of spirit, his generosity, and his love of life will carry on in our hearts.