Shelly Mahoney

Shelly (Clapshaw) Mahoney, 40, of Great Falls, died of a gunshot wound Thursday at her residence.
Funeral Liturgy for her and her husband, Donald Mahoney, is noon Wednesday at St. Ann's Cathedral, with inurnment in Mount Olivet Cemetery. Schnider Funeral Home is handling arrangements.
Shelly Kay Clapshaw Mahoney, a mother of three boys and a fourth-grade teacher at Mountain View School, died tragically at her home, Thursday, November 11.
Shelly was born May 30, 1970, in Great Falls, Mont., to Bob and Sandy Clapshaw. She attended Morningside and Roosevelt elementary schools, Paris Gibson Junior High School, and Great Falls High School, graduating in 1988. While growing up, Shelly and her family lived for many years at Ryan Dam, where her father was foreman for the Montana Power Company. During her elementary and secondary school years, Shelly and her family were involved in a constant swirl of scouting, basketball and outdoor activities, including camping, fishing and snow and water skiing. While in high school, Shelly worked at the Cine 4 Theater.
After high school, Shelly attended the University of Montana in Missoula, studying a wide variety of subjects, and later working there for Taco Treat. During summer breaks, she worked as a meter reader for the Montana Power Company in Great Falls and Missoula.
While in Missoula, Shelly met her future husband, Donald Mahoney, also from Great Falls. Shelly and Don were married at Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church in Black Eagle on July 3, 1993. They immediately moved to Honolulu, HI, where Don was posted as a platoon leader in an Army infantry unit and Shelly worked in the paint department of a large home improvement company (the type of job she would hold later in other places, including Forsyth Paint and Decorating Company in Great Falls).
After Hawaii, Shelly and Don were posted to Fort Lewis, near Tacoma, Wash. When Don's Army commitment was completed, they returned to Missoula, and then moved back to Great Falls, where Don became a Great Falls Police Officer. He then joined the full-time cadre of the Montana Air National Guard in Great Falls.
Back in Great Falls, Shelly and Don started their beloved family of three sons: Dugan Mahoney was born to them Aug. 17, 1998; Declan Mahoney on Aug. 29, 2000; and Donovan Mahoney on Dec. 27, 2002.
Shelly finished her college work at Montana State University - Northern in Great Falls. Juggling a very busy life as a wife, mother of three boys, school, and a part-time job, Shelly graduated from Northern in 2003 with her teaching certificate in elementary education. While at Northern, she was an excellent student and was inducted into Phi Theta Kappa (an honor society based on scholarship, leadership, service, and leadership).
Immediately after graduation, Shelly's joined the Great Falls Public School District as a substitute teacher in 2003. The next year and thereafter, she taught fourth grade at Mountain View School, where she quickly earned the respect, admiration, and gratitude of her students, fellow teachers, and school administrators alike.
Shelly possessed a great sense of humor and a wry/ironic wit as her family, friends, workmates and students can all attest to. She was fun and funny: a great storyteller, mimic, and a big tease.
Shelly was a devoted, dedicated, and involved mother, with a highly developed ability to juggle numerous (often competing) obligations and commitments. She managed a constant "blizzard" of family, school, sports and church activities. She and Don believed strongly in the redeeming qualities of sport and competition and encouraged/supported their sons in their athletic pursuits, including traveling widely throughout the state for wrestling matches and tournaments. They all enjoyed and spent a great deal of time in the great Montana outdoors, including precious times at the family's Holter Lake cabin.
Shelly's faith in God was rooted in her early family life and continued when she married Don and joined the Catholic Church. The Mahoney's made their faith the centerpiece of their family life and were active members of St. Anne's Cathedral and Our Lady of Lourdes School.
Shelly's untimely death leaves a stunned and devastated legion of family, friends, and associates. She is survived by her three sons, Dugan, Declan, and Donovan Mahoney; her mother, Sandy Clapshaw; her sister Katie Clapshaw McCluey, Katie's husband Gavin, and their children, Ellie and Jake; her fraternal grandmother Dorothy and husband Milo Steichen; her father-in-law, Dell, and mother-in-law, Bev Mahoney (all of Great Falls); and numerous aunts, uncles, and cousins.
Shelly was preceded in death earlier this year by her beloved father and an iconic Great Falls figure, Bob Clapshaw; her maternal grandmother, Sally Bader; her maternal grandfather, Murph Jacobson; and fraternal grandfather, Harlan Clapshaw.
An account has been set up at Wells Fargo "For the Benefit of the Children of Don and Shelly Mahoney." Memorials for Shelly may be made in this name and sent to Wells Fargo, 21 3rd St N, Great Falls, MT 59401.
Condolences may be posted online at www.schniderfuneralhome.com and/or www.gftribune.com/obituaries.