The sun was setting over the Lewis Alumni Centre in a bright orange and pink glow as family, friends and dogs gathered to honor the life of WSU student Shannon Prendergast.

A slideshow flashed pictures of Shannon throughout her life, from swimming to playing with puppies to hanging with friends and family, as the song Hallelujah and Disney music played in the background.

Easels and scrapbooks with pictures were surrounded by wooden carvings of the words “Live,” “Laugh,” “Love,” which Shannon’s father said was her motto.

People cried and laughed as 12 service dogs in training played.

The room was filled with wet eyes and long hugs as Shannon’s father, Pat Prendergast, took the microphone.

“Thank you for joining us in our journey,” he said. “Shannon was a daughter, a granddaughter, a sister, a niece, a friend and a dog lover. But first and foremost, she was a child of God. Shannon is a blessed gift that we all enjoy being around.”

He said Shannon embraced God’s word in her own special way, through her creativity and playful spirit.

“We can all attest Shannon lived her life fully,” he said.

Shannon, a 20-year-old WSU junior zoology major, died in a car crash early last Tuesday on I-90 east of Kittitas.

Pat Prendergast opened the floor for others to share their memories of Shannon. Kyle, a family friend, said he only really knew Shannon through group settings in Fourth of July celebrations, a Relay For Life team that Shannon organized, and renowned Prendergast game nights. But he said she and her family, who always greeted him with a smile, were the warmest, kindest people he’s ever met.

“When I think of her laugh, I can’t hear her laugh alone,” he said. “I hear a group, I hear family, I hear the Relay For Life team and I think that’s a wonderful thing.”

Dan Hardesty, a volunteer alongside Shannon in the group Canine Companions for Independence, said Shannon once made an apple pie, with apples picked from her relative’s tree for a dog’s birthday, and decorated it like a cake with all the dogs’ names on it.

Her relative said she was just discussing with Shannon how the apples were almost ready, and how they were looking forward to another day of picking and sorting the apples and making more pies.

“I’m afraid we aren’t going to look at the apple trees the same again,” she said.

Gordon, a fellow lifeguard, said in addition to all the qualities she possessed, Shannon was a lifesaver, a leader and a role model.

Kat Greaney of CCI said when Shannon first got Lottie, her service dog in training, she didn’t know what she was doing, but she was so focused on doing right by the dog.

“They were a beautiful dance to watch together,” she said. “This girl [holding Lottie] is a really lucky girl to have her as a person.”

Annie Fan, another volunteer for CCI and a WSU student, said when she transferred last year from California, Shannon was her first friend.
“I find her motto, ‘Live, Laugh, Love’ funny,” she said, “because I don’t remember a time with her when I didn’t experience all three,  sometimes two at once.”

She said Shannon went with her to the Spokane Airport to pick up Maeve, her service dog in training, on what she considers the happiest day of her life.

“I can’t see Maeve without seeing Shannon,” she said.

Shannon’s father thanked people for coming and thanked the dean of students for sending flowers to a previous service, and summed up Shannon’s motto, “Live, Laugh, Love,” in a quote from Albert Einstein.

“Prepare for the future as if there isn’t any,” he said.