Margaret Shannon Westrup

1945 - 2020

Margaret Shannon (Daily) Westrup passed away Dec. 19, 2020, in Waynesville, Mo. at age 75.

She suffered a stroke in 2019 and was receiving care at a nursing home when the COVID pandemic arrived and plans to relocate her to be closer to family had to be put on hold. She endured another stroke days before her passing. 

Shannon was born March 25, 1945, in Dunning, Neb. at the home of her great-aunt.  The eldest daughter of Shirley and Alvin Daily, she arrived while her dad was still serving in the South Pacific and was trying persistently to reach by phone anyone in Dunning for news of Shirley and the new baby.

Shannon grew up in Anselmo and enjoyed the freedom we all had then in a small town.  She made friends easily and also had many cousins around her age she would call her friends.  Shannon grew up with talent and a strong will. Her folks would years later say that Shannon may well have asked them for permission or direction, but no matter the answer, she went ahead and did just what she intended to do in the first place.

At age 12 she was already a piano accompanist at church and she would enjoy making music for many years.

Graduating from Anselmo-Merna High School in 1963, Shannon took courses at the Grand Island School of Business. 

She married Edward Clarke in 1966 in Broken Bow.  They lived in Broken Bow for a while but they would soon follow job opportunities west to Greeley, Colo. where they raised sons Dennis and Daniel and then were later divorced. 

In 1987, Shannon and Charles Westrup were married in Greeley. In short order they moved to rural Missouri, settling in at "Cave Lodge" on the banks of the Gasconade River where they enjoyed a peaceful, slow-paced lifestyle for over 30 years.

Throughout her years in Broken Bow, Greeley and Missouri, Shannon would do office work, care for tots in her home, be a school lunch lady and a bank teller.  She loved to cuddle babies, cats and dogs, too, visit with family and friends, bang out toe-tapping tunes on the piano and experiment with recipes in the kitchen.  The Internet allowed her to reach out to other recipe collectors, and when visitors came to Cave Lodge, they were treated to Shannon's special creations often made with the harvest from Chuck's garden.  

Shannon was preceded in death by parents Shirley and Alvin.

She is survived by husband Chuck of Piedmont, Okla.; sons Dennis (Christa) Clarke of Parker, Colo., Danny (Shannin) Clarke of Greeley, Colo. and also David (Anna) Westrup of Piedmont, Okla., Darrah (Andrew) Aitken of Durango, Colo. and Jonathan (Jane Cobb) Westrup of Durango, Colo. Grandchildren are Ethan Clarke, Ryan Westrup, Jared Westrup and Chloe Aitken.  Shannon is survived also by sisters Pat Horn, Jane (John) Mailand and Erin (Al) Krause, all of Lincoln; and by many nieces and nephews and a myriad of cousins.