Phyllis “Bee” Melillo Shanahan ’55
Phyllis “Bee” Melillo
Shanahan ‘55
Photo by Bill Petros
For years, Phyllis “Bee” Melillo Shanahan ’55 was UMW’s Long Island liaison. In New York, she represented her alma mater at college fairs, hosted receptions for accepted students, and helped with admissions recruitment.
For her enduring commitment to promoting Mary Washington, Shanahan received this year’s Frances Liebenow Armstrong ’36 Service Award, which recognizes alumni for the longevity, consistency, and breadth of their contributions.
Shanahan has served on the Alumni Association Board of Directors. She tirelessly gathered and submitted her classmates’ news for publication in University of Mary Washington Magazine, serving as Class Agent for a decade, from 1965 to 1975. She’s a longtime Reunion Weekend volunteer, along with her late husband, John, who was awarded “honorary alumnus” status for his enthusiasm and support of his wife’s service to her alma mater.
During their 52-year marriage, the couple traveled extensively in Europe. Upon John’s retirement, they moved to their former summer cottage in East Haven, Conn., near the shore, and wintered in their Deerfield Beach, Fla., condominium.
Formerly director of the cooperative Northport Nursery School in New York, Shanahan has three children, Patrick, Elizabeth, and John II.