Shawn T. Conley

Shawn Conley, 45, passed away on September 10, 2023.

Shawn was preceded in death by his Grammy, Gramma Alice, Gramma Kathy, Uncle Jon, and his so very loved Beau and his Lucy Diamond. He is survived by his mom, Peggy Conley, his best buddy/cat Grayson, dogs Lola, Sadie, and Lily; as well as his special “adopted by love” friends/family, Josh Sulin and Christina Klusty who were at his bedside during his final days, very special friends Nikki Higherman and Rachelle Murrell who always loved him and made him laugh, and his buddy, Phil that he worked with for years and shared so much laughter with. He also leaves so many kind and loving friends whom he shared so much joy with, too many to be able to list them all. He hoped they knew how much he loved them all and enjoyed his time with them, even though he wasn’t able to keep in touch.

Anyone who really knew Shawn knew he was shy until you got to know him and then once you knew him, you saw a huge heart that loved his friends and animals, a wit, and a sense of humor that would always surprise you and make you laugh, and a kindness and compassion beyond compare. He was a big teddy bear.

As a child, he spent hours and hours laying on the floor with all his dogs drawing superheroes. The loves of his life were his dogs, his cat, his mom, and Superman. The Christopher Reeves Superman movie came out the year he was born and the first time he saw that movie, it directed his life and created a love of art, anything superhero but it was always Superman who was his hero. He loved music especially Prince and Queen, going to concerts, the movies, and the zoo, especially the San Diego Zoo where he would go daily while he was in school and spend hours sketching by the monkeys and the elephants, and being with his friends and hanging out with his mom.

Shawn graduated from Portage Lakes Career Center/Manchester from the Law Enforcement Program. He attended college at the Art Institute of San Diego. He was an amazing, gifted artist. He loved his job and the people he worked with. During his fight with a very rare form of bone cancer, dedifferentiated sarcoma with IDH2 mutation, he fought hoping he would be able to return to the job that he loved so much.

Shawn and his mom want to express a special and personal thank you to Dr. Zachary Burke of the Cleveland Clinic Main Campus. Dr. Burke went above and beyond in his care and medical treatment of Shawn, performing a surgery never before performed to be able to give Shawn as good of a quality of life as possible with this horrific disease, and for Shawn to be able to be at home for his remaining days with as less pain as possible – which was a battle. Dr. Burke personally called Shawn and his mom regularly to check on them and was available to them for anything they needed. Dr. Burke also banded together a team of specialists who were available 24 hours a day for Shawn and his mom. Shawn’s cancer was so rare, that Dr. Burke presented Shawn’s condition to the Tumor Research Board and now cancer specialists across the country have parts of Shawn’s tumors, growing and studying these in hopes of finding treatment and hopefully a cure someday so no one else will have to endure what he did. Shawn told Dr. Burke and his mom on many occasions, that if research on his tumors is able to help 1 child from getting this horrific disease, then all his suffering will have been worth it.

Shawn is his mom’s hero. He was the light and love of her life. He will be so missed.

Funeral service will be held at 8 P.M. on Friday, September 15, 2023, at the Schermesser Funeral Home, 600 E. Turkeyfoot Lake Road, Akron, Ohio 44319 with Rev. Glenn George officiating. Family and friends may call on Friday from 5 P.M. until 8 P.M. at the funeral home and the service following. The family strongly requests that no flowers be sent, instead that memorial contributions towards Shawn’s medical and funeral expenses and research be made in his name to Schermesser Funeral Home or to Paws and Prayers Pet Rescue where he adopted his best buddy, his cat, Grayson, P.O. Box 67166, Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, 44222-7166. To leave a special message for the family, visit our website at www.schermesserfh.com.

SCHERMESSER
(330) 899-9107
www.schermesserfh.com

DONATIONS:
Schermesser Funeral Home- For Funeral Expenses
600 E. Turkeyfoot Lake Road
Akron, Ohio 44319

Paws and Prayers Pet Rescue
P.O. Box 67166
Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio 44222-7166

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