Monica L. McCann (Marks)

Shawnette and I were best friends from 1-12th grade.  We went to St. Winifreds together until she left to go to Mellon in 7th grade, but then we joined back up at the high school.  We walked to school in our platform shoes (tennis shoes had not become a fashion statement yet, remember) even when there was snow on the ground.  Sometimes on our way home Patty Mallicotte joined us for the walk and we thought we were big shots in 9th and 10th grade to stop and see Pattys mom at the Ivy Inn.  We were always happy when one of the neighbors offered a ride (this was also before seatbelts were a must).  We both were favorite babysitters around the neighborhood and EVERY Saturday we took the trolly to South Hills Village picking just the perfect outfit (remember the jeans with the rainbow stitching and the pants that had zippers on both sides instead of in the middle we both had them), jewelry and makeup to wear from our earnings.  Friday nights were consumed with going to the football games and walking all over the place (smoking like crazy) and we never missed a game and catching up with everyone at "the wall".

When we were younger I went camping with her family and she came on a few of our trips.  We went to Girl Scout camp each summer at Camp Henry Kaufmann for 2 weeks.  And, get this, our parents had us pay for the 2nd week from our babysitting money and we gladly did it.  One year there were, I think, 16 of us from Sunset Hills that went to camp for 2 weeks (probably tough to get a babysitter in the neighborhood for those 2 weeks).

In high school, ironically, we hung in the smoking area with our Girl Scout friends (Maryanne McGuire, Suzie Barney, Terry Bruni, and others) and snuck a smoke between classes.

In grade school we would get home from school, get the shopping list from our moms and go to the grocery store in the Sleepy Hollow shopping center.  Back then there was a 5 and dime, Bards, jewelry store and drug store and we went every day...usually walking and sometimes riding our bikes.

Basically we were inseparable in our early years.  We grew apart when our lives took different turns, but still spoke here and there and she was so delighted when meeting each of our babies at their baptisms.  Shawnette worked at Canonsburg Hospital in the accounting department and was completely involved in her nieces and nephews lives.  We all have had richer lives by having Shawnette in our lives.