J Shannon Sweatte

J. Shannon Sweatte, a country boy who loved horses and radio and who was known as “Easy” to his family and those who caught a glimpse of his bicep tattoo, passed away in his sleep on October 4, 2024, nine months after losing Janet, his wife of 67 years. Shannon is by Janet’s side again, where he belongs.

Born to Rex and Elizabeth “Betty” Sweatte on April 13, 1936 as the middle child between two sweet sisters, Carol and Joyce, Shannon grew up in Moab and Otis Orchards, Washington, east of Spokane above the family’s general store. This is where Shannon rode his beloved horse on adventures and discovered a secret prohibition-era cardroom under the wooden floor of an old barn, complete with card table and a Smith & Wesson pistol. Otis is also where Shannon met Janet Smith. By junior high, he knew that Janet was the one. In high school, he sold his horse for a car so he could drive her to school. He rinsed and wiped down his car every morning before picking her up.

At Otis High School, Shannon played football, baseball and the tuba. He was a stud. Janet cheered and played the trumpet. She was his Marilyn Monroe. If you were at those high school football games, you may have seen them run into the locker rooms at halftime to change into their band uniforms before running back out to play in the marching band. Shannon secretly proposed to Janet at her high school graduation. They hid the ring from her parents for a while but no one was surprised. On March 10, 1956, Shannon and Janet married in the little Whitworth Chapel on the campus of Whitworth College where Shannon was finishing his senior year in Communications and playing catcher and QB for the Whitworth Pirates. Janet was his biggest fan.

Shannon’s first job out of college was selling ads for the Spokesman-Review. Eventually, he and Janet bought their first home by painting the exterior for their down payment with Patti, their first born, propped in her infant seat watching them paint. Shannon’s radio career was launched when the manager of Spokane’s radio station KJRB hired him to sell ads. That led to his Sales Manager position, and then Station Manager. He and Janet moved their growing family to a home on the South Hill just a few minutes from KJRB. There they had three more children, Ron, Kathy and Nancy, making their family complete. We visited Dad for lunch at the radio station, sang an occasional jingle (“One Hour Martinizing!”), and felt like celebrities.

With Janet’s help and support, Shannon’s radio career grew into Seattle’s top tier market. They moved the family to Seattle in 1968 when KJR Radio hired Shannon to be their Sales Manager and, later, Station Manager. He also managed KVI-AM and KPLZ-FM (Star 101.5) owned by Gene Autry and his wife Jackie. Dad made lifelong friends in the radio business. The Washington State Broadcasters Association wrote, “Sweatte was known for identifying and mentoring countless air personalities, account executives and staff members during his highly successful career managing radio stations in the Pacific Northwest.” (https://www.facebook.com/share/BAzeuoh4pw6Zkzm3/?mibextid=WC7FNe) Shannon once told Ron that if he had not been so fortunate in his radio career, he would have wanted to be a pastor or coach. Judging by the notes and phone calls since his passing, it seems that Shannon was a pastor and coach to many of us.

Dad earned honors and awards throughout his career but to his kids he was #1 Dad. He taught Patti about horses and, with Mom’s talent in home design, built the family’s horse farm in Issaquah. Mom designed the house, Dad designed the barn. He trailered our horses to shows and events and chaperoned the 4-H kids to the Enumclaw Fair where he happily took his place in the barn with the horses. He supported Ron’s passion for mechanics and motorcycles by buying them each a motorcycle and trucking them to offroad parks where Ron, his friend Brett Smith, and Brett’s Dad, Jim, dirt biked all day. Only decades later did Dad confess that he didn’t really like riding motorcycles but he loved being with Ron. Kathy cherishes the times when Dad and Mom chaperoned her school dances where, Kathy insists, they did not embarrass her, and at Kathy’s senior prom Dad dressed in his best suit and bought mom a corsage. Nancy worked at KPLZ during her college summers, commuting with Dad from Issaquah to Seattle. Those drives were their talk time. He taught her that having a clean car, a tank of gas, showing up early, and dressing to the position she wanted would put her miles ahead of the next person, advice that served Nancy well in her own career.

He knew how to teach without preaching and to empower without overpowering. Like when he taught Patti to drive a stick shift by taking her hunting on backroads in Eastern Washington and then falling asleep in the passenger seat. He taught nephew Mikael the same way. Dad’s confidence in us gave us self-confidence.

Shannon was a humble man of the highest integrity. He spoke slow, low and with intention. He didn’t have to repeat himself. He had a “get home now” whistle and his kids listened to him. His values were simple and non-negotiable. Be kind, be honest, work hard. People learned by watching his choices and actions, like how he gently cared for Mom as her dementia progressed, and how he accepted Mom’s passing with grace amid his own grief. He looked forward, not backward. He knew that he stood on the shoulders of his parents, father in law, teachers and business mentors. He was completely devoted to his family and friends, and he appreciated the partnership of caregivers who made it possible for him to stay in the home that Mom designed for their senior years. He may have died of a broken heart but he did not feel sorry for himself. He left this world thinking of others.

That Shannon will be missed is an understatement. He is survived by his daughter Patti (Mike) Anderson, grandsons Jacob (Erica) and Nick, and great grandson Arlo; son Ron (Barb) Sweatte and granddaughter Becky Hendee; daughter Kathy (Paul) Fiascone, grandsons Mason (Johanna), Myles (Sarah), Max (Kelly), and granddaughters Zelie, Lucy and Sophie; daughter Nancy (Marc) Hill, granddaughter Chanel (Michael), grandson Trevon, and great-granddaughters Brooklyn and Huxley; brother in law Roger (Joyce, dec’d) Brockhoff, sisters in law Judy (John) Christensen, Susan Phillips, Gail Martin, Marian (Don, dec’d) Mitchell, Kitty (Max, dec’d) Smith, and their families; and dear friends Bob Steil, Steve and Sharon West, Don and Donna McCoun, Rod and Judy Krebs, Bob and Debbie Bingham, Ron and Louise Carter, Verl Wheeler, and others too many to mention here.

Passing before Shannon and waiting for him at the banquet table are Janet, Shannon’s parents Rex and Elizabeth Sweatte, sisters Carol Wuerch and Joyce Brockhoff, brother in law Jim Wuerch, and other loved ones from Mom’s large, extended family.

An informal Celebration of Life to share our love and stories of Shannon and Janet is scheduled for Sunday, November 3, 2024. For details please call Patti at 425-442-7478.