Shawna Maree Montgomery

It is with profound sadness and heavy hearts that we share the sudden passing of our young and beloved sister, daughter and granddaughter, Shawna.

Shawna grew up in Walpole, surrounded by family and making friends with everyone she met. Her family encouraged community service and the act of helping others resonated with Shawna from an early age. During her time in school, she took part in several fundraisers for different charities and spent several of her early years as a girl scout with her sister. Shawna attended Walpole schools then graduated high school from TriCounty Voc Tech with a certificate in HVAC. She decided to move north for college and earned her associate's degree in automotive technology from Vermont Technical College. While at VTC she learned to snowboard and gained an appreciation for country music and oldies. Wanting to continue her education but in a warmer climate, Shawna enrolled at Winthrop University in South Carolina. She quickly decided that it was too hot and there were too many bugs – can’t blame her, have you seen a Palmetto bug?!? After she transferred back to Vermont, Shawna excelled in her studies, earning a place in the national honor society and graduating on the Dean's List with a bachelor's degree in psychology. When she graduated, Shawna was part of the Psi Chi and Alpha Kappa Delta honor societies. The running joke was that with those degrees she would be able to diagnose the problems with the car and the reasons why they happened.

After college Shawna joined AmeriCorp where her love of serving the community really began to shine. She was placed at a city elementary school where she was able to teach kids how to read and learn basic math skills. Shawna was so proud of the kids she helped and found this work to be both fulfilling and gratifying every day. She continued engaging in community events including the Walk for Hunger in Boston and collecting donations for Cradles to Crayons. She could also be found volunteering with the local food pantries.

Shawna's goodwill was not only clear at the community level but also at home. She encouraged her friends to rescue and adopt animals and was so incredibly happy when she was able to adopt her own rescue dog, Bubbles. They spent many wonderful years together until Bubbles crossed the rainbow bridge a few years ago. A time later, Shawna was able to adopt another dog, Hennessey, whom she spent the past few years loving and spoiling rotten.

Her love for animals was clear in how she treated wildlife as well. She could often be found outside with pockets full of peanuts, surrounded by chipmunks and sometimes a squirrel or two. She always made sure the bird feeders were full and put buckets underneath to catch dropped seeds, but not hold water, for the squirrels to safely eat out of.

And being outside that much must have taught her something about plants, or else she just had that magic touch because she could put a stick in a pot and get it to grow. She made sure her parents house always had plants and flowers growing and would put a new flowering plant in each year in her Nana's side garden - there are 21 blooms on the yellow rose plant and at least 7 on the red one right now.

Shawna liked adventures and traveling. She enjoyed white water rafting and camping. She loved visiting her sister at school and exploring the city. Shawna liked traveling by train to visit friends. She was talented and enjoyed making drawings, small crafts, and glass paintings. Shawna was funny, smart, outgoing and the kindest person you would ever meet. She would talk to everyone she came across and somehow get them comfortable enough to share their story or at least answer whatever questions she was curious about - like what size shoe do you wear - then find a way to get them winter boots because she found out they didn't own a pair. She made sure her friends knew they were appreciated and would always remember birthdays and send gifts to their children.

Shawna loved her family. She would often brag about her sister to anyone that would listen because she was so proud of her accomplishments. As a child she would tell all her friends at school to bring her their broken things because she believed that her dad could fix anything. Shawna loved her mom's cooking, especially big breakfasts with pancakes. She was always right there to help Mom with anything - except the dishes. She was devoted to her Nana who saw her sister and her as her eighth and ninth children. Shawna loved helping her family. She could often be found dog-sitting for her parents, helping her sister prepare for special family meals and holiday gatherings, or spending time with Nana.

Shawna was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis in 2008. This disease affected her body and mind, but she never let it define her. She was a fighter and even when the MS had her at her worst, she still had a bright smile, kind words, and her ridiculously joyful sense of humor - contagious laughter included.

Shawna loved doing kind deeds and giving to others, but she enjoyed it best when she could do it anonymously. She encouraged those around her to do good and strive to be better versions of themselves always. We can only hope to live up to her example.

She will be greatly missed and forever remembered.

Shawna is survived by her sister Sarah Montgomery and partner Donald Kirkwood of Walpole; her parents Douglas and Carolann Montgomery of Walpole; her grandmother Edna Buckley of Walpole; her aunt Marie Karasevich of Delaware; her uncle Edward Buckley Sr and wife Mary of Canton; her uncle Richard Buckley and wife Saida of Walpole; her aunt Donna Montgomery of Norwood; her aunt Deborah and husband John Titus of Maine; her uncle Dwight Montgomery of Maine; her aunt Dorrit and husband Tony Emerson of Maine; and many cousins and a large extended family.

Shawna is predeceased by her grandfather, James A. Buckley Jr; grandparents Donald E. A. Montgomery and wife Doris; uncles James A. Buckley III, Robert Buckley, David Montgomery and Darrah Montgomery; and aunt Louise Taylor. Shawna also leaves behind her "littlest handsome" puppy pal, Hennessey; her best friend whom we all considered family, Sarah "Monkey" Aronson; her good friends Almir, Jessica, Lynn and Ellie; and numerous friends, too many to list.

Relatives and friends are kindly invited to attend Shawna's visitation on Thursday, June 25th, 2026, from 4:00 - 7:00 pm in the James H. Delaney & Son Funeral Home, 48 Common Street, Walpole.

A funeral home service will be held on Friday, June 26th, 2026, at 11:00 am. Interment will be private.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made in Shawna's memory to WAGS Animal Rescue by mailing a check to WAGs at PO Box 4, 1120 Somerset Avenue, North Dighton, MA 02764 or by visiting www.wagsforall.org.