Neil P. Shanahan of Warminster, PA died peacefully on Tuesday, October 10, 2017, at Pickering Manor Home, Newtown. He was 86.

He was the beloved husband of Nancy Rogers Shanahan for 62 years.

Born in Manhattan, NY, he was the son of the late John B. and Mary Louise McAllister Shanahan.

As a young child Neil moved to Bangor, PA where he grew up and graduated from Bangor High School.  He attended Niagara University and studied Liberal Arts before going to the US Army Officer Candidate School in 1953 and then on to US Army Ordinance School in 1954.

After his time in the service he moved to the Philadelphia area and received his undergraduate degree from Villanova University in 1959 and then his law degree from Villanova Law School in 1962.

He took a job with the FBI as a special agent and worked in Miami tracking down fugitives for about a year before his transfer to Alabama where civil rights tensions were beginning to erupt. His efforts were then focused on neutralizing the racial violence that was overwhelming the south. Then in 1983 after 21 years with the FBI, Neil retired as the Special Agent in charge of the Lansdale Office and was also responsible for the management of the FBI’s programs in both Bucks and Montgomery Counties. 

Neil, however, didn’t retire. He was a gifted negotiator and was seen as the best in the business.  From 1985 to 2000 he worked as an independent contractor with the US State Department as an educator, teaching International Counter Terrorism around the world.

In addition to his beloved wife, he is survived by his five children, Heather Shanahan and her husband Jan Kudilek of Frankfort, Germany, Timothy Shanahan and his wife Mary of Chalfont, Neil Shanahan II of Dauphin Island, AL, Peter Shanahan and his wife Stacy of Peachtree City, GA, and Martha Jones and her husband Walter of Cochranville, PA.  He is also survived by his 12 loving grandchildren, Amy, Erin, Timothy Jr., Cailin, Aubrie, James, Neil III, Kyle, Evan, Sarah, Walter Jr. and Lacey.

Relatives and friends are invited to attend his viewings on Monday October 16, 2017 from 6:00 – 8:00 PM at the Joseph A. Fluehr III Funeral Home, 241 E. Butler Ave. (at Sandy Ridge Rd.), New Britain, PA 18901 and on Tuesday, October 17, 2017, from 10:00 AM until his Funeral Mass 11:00 AM at St. Robert Bellarmine Church, 856 Euclid Avenue, Warrington, PA 18976. Interment with military honors will take place at 1:00 PM at the Washington Crossing National Cemetery, Newtown. 

In lieu of flowers, contributions in his memory may be made to a charity of the donor’s choice.