Shannon Susan Bute

Shannon was born in Phoenix, Arizona, on March 22, 1970 to Sandra and Jay Hawkins. Shannon is survived by her parents, husband, James, and her three children, Lily, Sydney, and Dominick Bute. She is also survived by her two siblings Megan and David Hawkins.

Shannon graduated from Arizona State University in 1992 with her Bachelors Degree in French. Soon after, Shannon realized that her calling in life was teaching and obtained her teaching certificate from Northern Arizona University in 1996. She went back to Arizona State University and received her Masters Degree in Secondary Education in 2009.

Shannon began teaching for Mesa Public Schools in 1997. She left in 2003 to devote her time to raising her beautiful children. She then returned to teaching in 2009 and taught at both Red Mountain and Skyline High Schools for a short while until filling a full time position at Red Mountain. In 2019 she became the Foreign Language Department chair. Shannon traveled to France several times with students encouraging them to learn and engage with the French citizens. She loved sharing her passion for all things French with her students.

Shannon cherished her free time outside of work. She often spent her evenings enjoying various TV shows or movies such as Law & Order-SVU, Outlander or almost any movie with Gerard Butler. She’d finish her night by steadily making her way through the pile of books next to her bed. She filled her weekends with different activities like playing the piano, painting, and gardening. And from a very young age, Shannon consistently kept journals and diaries, feeling it was so important to remember the little details of the events that shaped her life. Shannon loved to travel and in addition to the multiple trips to France with her students, this past summer she was able to visit all over Europe. She voyaged to England and France with her son, Dominick, and took the trip of her dreams to Ireland and Scotland with her sister, Megan.

Shannon loved music. Her playlists included a wide variety of music including the Bee Gees, ABBA, Disney soundtracks, and Duran Duran to French musicians such as Edith Piaf and Charles Trenet. As for classical music, Shannon preferred to play it herself on the piano. Her favorite works included Debussy’s Clair De Lune, Chopin’s Moonlight Sonata and Beethoven’s Fur Elise.

Shannon loved jewelry, scarves and Chanel No. 5. She had a secret stash of chocolate that her kids didn’t know about (supposedly) and enjoyed a good bottle of wine. In that spirit and by Shannon’s own request, Shannon’s family is planning a Celebration of Life sure to be filled with laughter, music, dancing and, in French fashion, lots of great wine!

While her husband and children appreciate the beautiful bouquets sent so far by those who loved Shannon and wished to express their condolences, the greatest tribute to her memory can be made through donations to the Arizona Heart Foundation, https://azheartfoundation.org.