On the evening of January 8, 2014, Dr. Dolores Marie Shanahan, 83, of Fort Salonga, NY, died peacefully surrounded by members of her loving family. Dolores went to her rest after a long battle with Alzheimer's disease.  

Dolores, the daughter of Frank Yoerg and Rose Ann Mooney was born on January 4, 1931 in  Queens NY, the eldest of three children. She was raised in St. Albans, NY, graduating from St. Catherine of Sienna School, St. Agnes Academic High School in Rockville Centre, and St. Joseph’s College in Brooklyn, NY, and received an MS in Guidance & Counseling from Fordham University.  For many years, Dolores served in the Commack Public School system in Commack, NY, where she was Director of Special Education and Curriculum Director for the school district with a student body of 9,000. As a young mother and while teaching in Commack, Dolores continued her education and went on to earn her Ph.D. in Child Psychology from St. John's University.  Dolores was known as a dedicated professional, keenly interested in the development of each and every child. She touched many lives on Long Island with her kind, thoughtful, brilliant mind that was always looking to advance education by offering alternative methods of teaching so that each child could learn.

Dolores was a national pioneer in education in the early 1970's, introducing computers into every classroom and teaching the school district the benefits of technology for learning. In 1977, she created Project CAL (Computer Accelerated Learning), a pilot program to measure the effectiveness of using computers in an elementary learning environment that led to the district-wide implementation of a comprehensive computer-learning program. She also wrote about and promoted the use of computers for special needs education. Dolores lectured at conferences all around NY State about the program she had developed for Commack Public Schools. Many school systems from across the US visited Commack to learn how to develop a similar model. 

Dolores had many intellectual and creative interests, was a published poet, an avid gardener and traveled extensively throughout the world.  She was actively involved with many adult education committees at her parish, Our Lady Queen of Martyrs Roman Catholic Church in Centerport, NY, and taught English as a second language to women immigrants with the Dominican Sisters of Amityville, NY, at their Motherhouse. Throughout her life, Dolores remained an active, outgoing and loving woman.  She enriched the lives of countless students, parents, teachers and school administrators. She will be sorely missed by her family and those whose lives she brightened on Long Island and in NYC.

Dolores was pre-deceased by her husband, William J. Shanahan, and her sister Rose Ann.  She is survived by her husband, Francis X. O'Shea; a daughter, Jeanne Shanahan, of Hoboken, NJ; a son, William Jr., of Nissequoque, NY; grandsons, Connor and Christopher Langer, also of Hoboken; and one brother, Frank Yoerg, and his wife Kathy of Williamsburg, VA.

There will be no calling hours.  A memorial service will be planned in the future at Our Lady Queen of Martyrs Church, Centerport, NY.

Arrangements entrusted to Agra Cremation, NJ

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