Shannon Louise Wick

Shannon was born on April 16, 1965 in Portland, OR. From a very early age, Shannon was raised in a house full of music. Shannon’s father Fred and mother Donna were accomplished pianists who taught and performed in the Portland area throughout her youth. As children, Shannon and her older sister Kim studied the violin. Both Wick sisters were active members of the Junior Symphony/Portland Youth Philharmonic for several years.

Shannon attended Wilson High School (now Ida B. Wells) in Portland where she discovered a love of musical theater and singing. Her violin career was cut short after suffering a broken wrist. As a result, she poured her talents into singing, excelling in all forms, and eventually narrowing her focus on opera where she honed her voice as a soprano.

While still in high school, Shannon attended the Boston University Tanglewood Institute, a summer training program for young musicians located in Lenox, MA. This led to Shannon earning a full scholarship to Boston University’s College of Fine Arts, where she received her Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance in 1988.

In 1989, while still in Boston, Shannon decided to take a solo adventure through Europe. She found her way across the continent living in hostels, making new friends, and working random jobs, including a brief stint as a gas station attendant along the autobahn. This trip also gave her a front row seat to the fall of the Berlin Wall.

After almost a decade in Boston, Shannon moved back to Portland. Shannon found a successful career in the hospitality industry working behind the bar of some of Portland's most iconic bars and restaurants. From the funky vibe of the original Hamburger Mary’s to her most recent tenure at Seasons & Regions, a popular farm-to-table restaurant in SW Portland, Shannon was known as one of the best bartenders in the city. Her magic touch was in making every customer feel like an immediate friend, whether you were a first-time guest or a longtime regular.

While attending a party with friends in April 2001, Shannon met and fell in love with Portland-native Glenda Hasen. From that night forward, the two were inseparable for the next 23 years. They created a home full of love for each other and a host of rescue cats and dogs. They enjoyed traveling, especially trips to the Oregon coast, becoming regulars at a rustic cabin in Rockaway.

The Wick family has deep Norwegian roots. In 2009, Shannon, Glenda, Fred and Kim took an extended trip to Norway and loved rolling out the red carpet every time the Norwegian cousins visited the States.

Shannon will be remembered for her quick wit, easy laugh, and generous heart. Of all the gifts Shannon shared with her family and friends, her beautiful singing voice made an indelible impression on us all. Shannon loved sitting around a roaring campfire (that she built with much pride) playing the guitar or mandolin while singing Indigo Girls classics or stunning audiences at karaoke bars by belting out songs by Melissa Ethridge, Adele, and Bonnie Raitt. She also shared her love of classical music with friends that included trips to the opera and performances by her favorite violinist, the fiery Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg.

Shannon is survived by her loving partner Glenda Hasen, father Fred, sister Kim of Buxton, OR, her extended family in Norway, and friends from coast to coast and around the world.

The family and friends of Shannon would like to extend our heartfelt thanks to the medical team at Oregon Health Sciences University for their outstanding care and compassion in the last week of Shannon’s life. Her room in the ICU was filled with love, laughter, storytelling and music, as Shannon would want.

The family will host a Celebration of Life at a later date.

In lieu of flowers, the family encourages memorial donations be made to the Oregon Humane Society (www.oregonhumane.org) or Community Music Center (www.communitymusiccenter.org).

Please feel welcome to leave your condolences, warm memories, and cherished photos on this page to be enjoy by all who knew and loved Shannon. Your contributions will be greatly appreciated by her loving friends and family.