Celebration of Life for Shawn Flaherty, 64, of New England, ND will be 11:00 a.m., Monday, December 9, 2019 at the New England School Gymnasium in New England, ND with Father Gary Benz and Pastor Colin Neuharth officiating.
Shawn passed away on Wednesday, December 4, 2019 in Dickinson, ND due to injuries sustained in an automobile accident.
Shawn Flaherty of New England, North Dakota, was born on June 2, 1955 in Washington, D.C. He attended Wheaton High School in Wheaton, Maryland, and went onto college at Montgomery Community College. Upon earning a basketball scholarship, Shawn completed his college career at Jamestown College in Jamestown, North Dakota, where he earned a double bachelor degree in Elementary and Physical Education. His first teaching and coaching positions were in Ellendale, North Dakota. Shawn went onto teach sixth grade and coach at New England Public School in New England, North Dakota. He also taught and coached in Redding, California, before returning to New England in 2015. Shawn had a great love for sports and coaching. Over the course of his career, he coached basketball, track and field, softball, and football. He especially enjoyed coaching girls’ basketball. One of his favorite activities at New England Public School was Drills & Skills where he taught the basics of basketball to the children in kindergarten through third grade. Though Shawn had no children of his own, he mentored and loved his students and student athletes who loved him in return.
Shawn is survived by his brother, Mike (Nina) Flaherty, of Park City, Utah, and his sister, Maureen (Russell) Flaherty, of Fairfax, Virginia. He was preceded in death by his parents, Andrew J. and Joyce Flaherty, and his sister, Kathleen Flaherty-Dresser.
Shawn touched the lives of so many people he encountered wherever he lived and coached. He will be especially missed by his Tiger Family at New England Public School.
Burial Date: December 9, 2019
Funeral Home Dickinson, ND
Celebration of Life: 11:00 a.m., Monday, December 9, 2019 at the New England School Gymnasium – New England, ND