Shane Patrick Gill

Shane Patrick Gill, most recently of Tilton, died peacefully on Saturday, January 27, 2024, at the Granite VNA Hospice House after a long period of declining health occasioned by Multiple System Atrophy.  He was 59.

Shane was born in June 1964 at Turner A.F.B. in Albany, Georgia.  During the course of his father’s military career, he grew up on Air Force Bases in Bangor, ME, Altus, OK, Rapid City, SD, and Grand Forks, ND.  While his father served a year-long unaccompanied tour in Southeast Asia, Shane and the rest of his family lived with Flanagan family relatives in Manchester.

At the conclusion of his father’s 28-year military career, the family moved to Derry, where Shane attended elementary, middle, and high school.  Immediately upon graduation from Pinkerton Academy, where he played on the golf team, Shane enlisted in the U.S. Air Force.  His active duty assignments included postings in Texas, New Hampshire, Belgium, and the United Kingdom.  After being honorably discharged from active duty, Shane later served in the Army National Guard at Fort Eustis, VA and Air National Guard at Pease ANGB.  He served several overseas deployments including to Qatar and Guam.

Shane was known for his boundless energy throughout his youth.  He played baseball, was an avid golfer, enjoyed off road dirt bikes, and, while living in South Dakota, tending to the family’s seven horses.  He also participated in Scouting and the Civil Air Patrol.  During breaks in his military service, he earned his pilot’s license, commercial driver’s license, and Associates Degree in Mechanical Engineering.

Shortly after his military retirement, Shane was diagnosed with Multiple System Atrophy (MSA), a rare, degenerative, neurological disorder.  As his symptoms progressed, he resided at and enjoyed the compassionate care of the Robin Hill Farm house in Peterborough, and the New Hampshire Veterans’ Home in Tilton.  He displayed exemplary patience and resilience in the face of deteriorating health and two subsequent cancer diagnoses.

Shane is predeceased by his parents, Glenn Milton and Elizabeth “Betty” (Flanagan) Gill; brother-in-law, Richard C. Lord; nine aunts; and three uncles.  He is survived by his sister, Erin Lord of Bow; his brother, Sean Gill of Derry; Aunt Glenda Gill of Fort Collin, CO, Aunt Georgia Gill of Albuquerque, NM; and numerous cousins. 

Services: Calling hours are Thursday, February 1, 2024, from 4 to 7 PM at Connor-Healy Funeral Home and Cremation Center, 537 Union Street, Manchester, NH.

The funeral will be held, Friday, February 2, 2024, with a mass of Christian burial to be celebrated at 10 AM in St. Raphel Church, 103 Walker Street, Manchester, NH.

Burial with military honors will follow in St. Joseph Cemetery, Bedford, NH.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Shane’s memory to Granite VNA Hospice House, 240 Pleasant Street, Concord, NH 03301 or www.granitevna.org. 

For more information visit www.connorhealy.com.