John Willis Shanley died on January 30, 2023 at the University of Virginia Hospital after a long illness. He was born on July 10,1945 in Washington D.C at the Columbia Hospital for Women, where his daughter would be born 42 years later. He graduated from Gonzaga High School in Washington, DC and then from Belmont Abbey College, in North Carolina. He earned a master’s degree in Sociology from the University of Maryland and a master’s degree in Urban Planning from Catholic University. In 1980, he obtained his Juris Doctor from the University of Baltimore.

Both in his professional career and in his volunteer activities, he worked to preserve affordable housing. From 1976 to 1999, he worked as a Manager in the Maryland Department of Housing and Urban Development. From 1999 to his retirement in 2015, John worked for the federal government’s Department of Housing and Urban Development, first as the Multifamily Program Director of the District of Columbia Field Office and then as a Senior Project Manager.

While living in Arlington Virginia, John was active in the Arlington Housing Corporation, a non-profit developer of affordable housing. He served on the Board of Directors and was president for three years. He also served as a member of the Arlington Planning Commission and the Northern Virginia Planning District Commission. In addition, he practiced law part time in Arlington. After retiring and moving to Central Virginia in 2015, John served as President and Board member of the Skyline Community Action Partnership, which administers state and federal programs to combat poverty.

John’s avocation was golf. He was a longtime member of the Greene Hills Club in Central Virginia. Before his retirement he also played various courses in the Metropolitan area, including the East Potomac Golf Course, where he began playing as a child. 

John was a devoted husband to his wife of 47 years, Susan Korfanty. The first five years of their marriage were spent with both of them working full time during the day and going to law school at night. They later practiced law together in Arlington County. John was devoted to his daughter Sara and, as a father he was far ahead of his time in caring for her. Unlike many of her colleagues, Susan could go to work early knowing that Sara would get to school with a good breakfast, dressed nicely with her hair done. As she got older, he participated in coaching her many athletic teams. Sara was literally his pride and joy from the day she was born, and her success in her life and her career speaks volumes of the father and husband and man he was.

In lieu of flowers, please make a donation in John’s name to Skyline Community Action in Madison, Virginia.

Services will be held on Saturday, February 4^th, 2023 at 11 AM at Preddy Funeral Home in Madison, Virginia.