Shannon was born on June 12, 1974 at Melfort Union Hospital to parents Leo and Marie Gallays. She was the second born out of five. The family grew up in St. Brieux. In 1990 the family moved to Melfort, where Shannon completed high school. She began waitressing and found she greatly enjoyed working with the public. Her gift of gab and sense of humor shone through. She made lifelong friends among coworkers and customers. She even met the love of her life, Jeff Elder, while waitressing. They were married in 1995. In 1997 they started a family and were blessed with their daughter Brittany, and three years later their son, Zachary. Shannon was an art fanatic. Creating was a second language to her. She started with painting canvases, but that just didn’t fit. After she was gifted a Tree of Life, it sparked her passion to create her own Trees of Life which involved using wire, stones and beads. She expanded her wire creating skills by making various artwork like dragonflies, Tree of Life pendants and figurines. Much more on track, but still not it. This led her to finding paverpol. She became an instructor and opened her own studio in 2021. She enjoyed teaching others and watching the creations come to life. After being diagnosed with Ovarian Cancer in July 2021, Shannon started The Battle. She fought like the character she was known to be; always positive and upbeat. Unfortunately, after a short battle she passed away peacefully on March 3rd, 2022 at the age of 47. Her memory will be carried on by her husband Jeff, daughter Brittany, son Zachary, Siblings Bart (Michele) Elizabeth; Jolynne, Landon, Kyara; Kristen (Tracy) Talin; Melissa (Craig) Garrett, Ryan, as well as numerous aunts, uncles, cousins and friends. Memorial contributions in memory of Shannon may be directed to the Shannon's Artist Directory Make cheques payable to Melfort Arts Council P.O. Box 3467 Melfort,SK S0E 1A0 e transfer to [email protected] To plant Memorial Trees in memory of Shannon Marie Elder, please click here to visit our Sympathy Store.