Obituary for Dennis Shanley
Dennis Shanley had a dry wit that made him an amusing friend and a kind heart that made him a beloved husband. He died in his own bed in Jeffersonville, Vermont, on December 17, 2022, after a long illness. He was 79. He is survived by his wife Phyllis Shanley and his nephew Brendan Shanley. Dennis’s younger brother Brian Shanley, Brendan’s father, died in Spring 2022.
Dennis was born on March 19, 1943 and grew up in New Haven, Connecticut. He was named for his mother’s father, Dennis Edward Keeley, who died a week before. His own father, Francis Shanley, served in WW2 in an artillery unit and was away during Dennis’s babyhood. His mother, Doris Keeley Shanley, and grandmother, Kathryn Keeley, did their best in the loneliness of wartime.
Dennis graduated from UConn (University of Connecticut) in 1966 with a degree in economics with minors in mathematics and philosophy. Almost immediately he was drafted into the Army. He was sent to VietNam in 1967 with the 1st Infantry Engineers and served as a field radio mechanic, responsible for radio communications in the jungle. He remained for a second tour, running the transfer base’s broadcast radio station. He loved the music of the time, Folk, Protest, Blues, and Psychedelic Rock.
He returned to the US to pick up a career in Computer Programming, starting with Travelers’ Insurance in Hartford, Connecticut. Unsure about his choice, he took a sabbatical to “ski bum” at Stratton Mountain and Madonna Mountain (now Smugglers’ Notch) and fell in love with Vermont. He went on to develop a successful consultancy in Systems Analysis and Information Technology for large firms in Montreal (where he met his wife Phyllis) and New England, all within a week-end commute of his Vermont home base. He and Phyllis were married In September 1976 on top of Sterling Mountain. They formed a business partnership, Cottage Industries LTD, based on the vision of telecommuting before the term was coined. In the early 1980s, they opened a computer shop in Jeffersonville to provide the new desktop computers to small businesses in the area. Later Dennis took on the job of Chief Information Officer at the VA Hospital in White River Jct, introducing a state-of-the-art paging system for the VA and Dartmouth-Hitchcock medical staff to communicate quickly.
Finally he was able to semi-retire to his dream home, a log house on Gooseberry Knoll, 3 miles from his post office box in Jeffersonville. He, with his wife and dogs, enjoyed the 90 acres of woodland and the spectacular view to the West for many years. His honeymoon in 1978 was a six month tour of the Western US in an MGB lugging a small cargo trailer with camping gear, an experience they both considered their happiest time together. The “log tent” they bought when they returned is a natural extension of that happiness.
Dennis was born on March 19, 1943 and grew up in New Haven, Connecticut. He was named for his mother’s father, Dennis Edward Keeley, who died a week before. His own father, Francis Shanley, served in WW2 in an artillery unit and was away during Dennis’s babyhood. His mother, Doris Keeley Shanley, and grandmother, Kathryn Keeley, did their best in the loneliness of wartime.
Dennis graduated from UConn (University of Connecticut) in 1966 with a degree in economics with minors in mathematics and philosophy. Almost immediately he was drafted into the Army. He was sent to VietNam in 1967 with the 1st Infantry Engineers and served as a field radio mechanic, responsible for radio communications in the jungle. He remained for a second tour, running the transfer base’s broadcast radio station. He loved the music of the time, Folk, Protest, Blues, and Psychedelic Rock.
He returned to the US to pick up a career in Computer Programming, starting with Travelers’ Insurance in Hartford, Connecticut. Unsure about his choice, he took a sabbatical to “ski bum” at Stratton Mountain and Madonna Mountain (now Smugglers’ Notch) and fell in love with Vermont. He went on to develop a successful consultancy in Systems Analysis and Information Technology for large firms in Montreal (where he met his wife Phyllis) and New England, all within a week-end commute of his Vermont home base. He and Phyllis were married In September 1976 on top of Sterling Mountain. They formed a business partnership, Cottage Industries LTD, based on the vision of telecommuting before the term was coined. In the early 1980s, they opened a computer shop in Jeffersonville to provide the new desktop computers to small businesses in the area. Later Dennis took on the job of Chief Information Officer at the VA Hospital in White River Jct, introducing a state-of-the-art paging system for the VA and Dartmouth-Hitchcock medical staff to communicate quickly.
Finally he was able to semi-retire to his dream home, a log house on Gooseberry Knoll, 3 miles from his post office box in Jeffersonville. He, with his wife and dogs, enjoyed the 90 acres of woodland and the spectacular view to the West for many years. His honeymoon in 1978 was a six month tour of the Western US in an MGB lugging a small cargo trailer with camping gear, an experience they both considered their happiest time together. The “log tent” they bought when they returned is a natural extension of that happiness.