Christine Elizabeth Mcshane (Weot)

Christine Elizabeth McShane, 91 years old, was reunited with her late husband, Larry, early on the morning of Tuesday, November 30, 2021.

Christine was born November 11,1930, the second child and first daughter of Vernus and Blanche Weot. Her mother passed away when Christine was eleven, leaving her father, grandmother and aunt to care for the young family of seven children. They didn’t have much but they had each other. After graduating from St. Paul’s High School, Christine assisted at Bon Secours Hospital and met our father there. Dad, a newly-minted steamfitter, was working at the hospital when, from a window, Mom saw him coming in to work one day. She told the nuns, “That’s the man I’m going to marry!” Sister Emma let them spark in the hospital laundry room.

They wed on August 2, 1952, bought a house on Orangelawn in Detroit down the street from Epiphany Parish, and started their family. In 1957, they moved to Livonia and were founding members of St. Genevieve Parish. They were both very active in our Church community and Mom was a longtime member of the Rosary Altar Sodality and wrote great, newsy articles for the Parish bulletin.

Dad worked hard every day of his life to provide for us and Mom managed everything else, sometimes for only a handmade card and a fistful of dandelions on Mother’s Day.
Did we thank her enough? I’m sure we did not. She was up before all of us, every day, to make sure we had breakfast and to pack our lunches each school day. She paid the bills, shopped the groceries, cooked and cleaned, did thousands of loads of laundry (including cloth diapers) and hung all of it out on a clothesline most days of the year. Our parents bought the family a membership in CB Swim Club down around the block. We all took swimming lessons and stayed out of her hair for a few precious hours a day each summer. We looked forward to one week of vacation a year after her last youngster was born: our folks loaded all eight of us in the biggest station wagon Ford built, put our luggage in a rack on top, and motored us eight hours into Ontario up to Georgian Bay at a lodge called Paignton House. It was always a great trip. As her children grew up, she was able to volunteer on Wednesdays at St. Mary’s Hospital for thirty years.

Mom and Dad celebrated 54 years of marriage and she was his caregiver for the last several years of his life as he lost all of his memories. The hardest thing for Mom was when Dad forgot who she was. She missed him so much.

Mom disciplined us firmly and loved us totally, fiercely and unconditionally, even when we screwed up. The memories we cherish are too many to count.

Christine is remembered by her children and their families:

Louise and Ken Lannoye, Christopher Lannoye and his daughters Charlotte and Elizabeth, Claire and Mark Hall and their daughters Madeline and Emma, Joe and Allyce Lannoye and their children Benjamin, Amelia and Evelyn; David McShane, his partner Pat Mack, and sons Ian, Brian and Kevin McShane; Dennis McShane and daughter Emily; Edward and Leslie McShane, son Larry and his fiancée Hali Riggleman; John McShane; Eileen and Brian Postma, William and Meagan Postma and their children Olivia, Finnley and new-baby-to-be Elliot, Daniel and Mea Postma and son Rowan, Edward Postma; Patti Church and children Christine and John; Dr. Andrew McShane.

Christine will remain in the hearts of her sisters Alice and Mary Lou. Christine is preceded in death by her parents, her older brother Herbie and younger siblings Paul, Kathleen and David.

Visitation at Manns Family Funeral Home will be held Sunday, December 5, from 1-5 p.m.

A brief visitation at St. Genevieve-St. Maurice Parish on Monday, December 6, will begin at 10:30 a.m. with the funeral service following at 11 a.m. The Church is located at 29015 Jamison Street, Livonia, 48154.

Memorial contributions may be made to the University of Notre Dame. Please direct your gifts to the Notre Dame Liturgical Choir Endowment in memory of Christine McShane. Gifts may be made online at giving.nd.edu, by phone at (574) 631-5150, or by mail: University of Notre Dame, Department of Development, 1100 Grace Hall, Notre Dame, IN 46556.

The babies are fine, Mom. Love you!