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 Emeritus
Professor, Lyle W. Shannon, 85, died December 20, 2005. Professor Shannon
received a BA in Sociology from Cornell
College in Mt.
Vernon, Iowa and a MA and
Ph.D. from the University of Washington in Seattle. He taught at the University of Washington,
the University of Wyoming, the University
of Colorado, Wayne
State University,
the University of Wisconsin in Madison,
and the University
of Iowa. He was Chair
of the Department of Sociology at the University of Iowa
from 1962 to 1970. From 1970 to his retirement he was Director of the Iowa Urban
Community Research
Center at the University of Iowa.
Professor
Shannon’s research began in the 1950’s with studies of the
relationship between economic and social development and the political
status of 200 self-governing countries and non-self-governing colonies. His
1957 volume, Underdeveloped Areas: A
Book of Readings and Research presaged a generation of research and
publications on development and nation building. In the 1970s Professor
Shannon’s research interest turned to studies of delinquency and
early adult crime. He is best known for his research on three birth cohorts
from Racine, Wisconsin (1942, 1949 and 1955) using
official police and court data. A stream of publications by Professor
Shannon and his associates established that many factors contribute to the
development of adult criminal careers.
His last four books represent varied interest. Two were
based on the Racine
birth cohorts – Criminal Career
Continuity: Its Social Context (1988) and Alcohol and Drugs, Delinquency and Crime (1998). His book, Developing Areas: A Book of Readings and
Research (1995) co-authored with Vijayan K. Pillai was a complete revision of his 1957 volume. In 1995 Professor Shannon published a
‘fun book’ filled with political wisdom from two cats. In Socks and Cretin: Two Democrats Helping
Bill With the Presidency, Professor Shannon created a dialogue of
correspondence between President Clinton’s cat, Socks and
Lyle’s cat, Cretin.
Although Lyle was officially retired, he continued to
have a daily presence in the Department of Sociology at the University of Iowa. Lyle was busy writing a
history of the Department. His memories of the “old days” were
always amusing – especially as told through the eyes of someone who
remembered even the smallest of details. He generously supported the Center
for Criminology and Sociolegal Studies through
financial contributions and his presence at brown bag colloquiums and the
Center’s guest speaker series.
Lyle was born in Storm
Lake, Iowa in
1920. He is preceded in death by his historian spouse, Magdeline. He is
survived by his four children, artist Mary Shannon Will of Calgary,
Alberta and Albuquerque,
New Mexico, a
Hollywood film technician, Susan Michelle Shannon of Mission
Hills, California, Robert
William of Seattle, Washington,
and John Thomas of Missoula,
Montana.
 Submitted by Celesta A. Albonetti, Professor of Sociology and Director of
Criminology and Sociolegal Studies
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