Mary Jo "MJ" Shannon

Mary Jo Campbell was born on July 26, 1934, in Hope, Arkansas, to Lou Ethel Campbell and Gordon Lowe Campbell. Her family's obituary says she spent part of her childhood in Mississippi before the family settled in San Diego, California.

In San Diego her mother later married Jim Fairbanks. He became Mary Jo's beloved stepfather, described in her obituary as a guiding presence throughout her life and "one of her greatest loves until the day he passed away." Her mother also owned a shop called Candelabra on Prospect Street in La Jolla, an early example of the small-business life Mary Jo would go on to build herself.

Details of Mary Jo's schooling have not been made public beyond the fact that she married her high school sweetheart at 18. Profiles in People and OK! Magazine describe her working as a model in her youth and later as a teacher at an etiquette school, before she turned to retail.

Following in her mother's footsteps, Mary Jo opened Candles of La Jolla on Girard Avenue, then founded Shannon & Company, a children's boutique. People dates the opening of Shannon & Company to 1980, while a 2016 La Jolla Light report said the store had been in La Jolla since 1985.

For years the shop stood on Wall Street in La Jolla. Her obituary called it "a destination for families who came from near and far, known for its thoughtfully curated gifts, toys, and timeless charm." Kris Jenner worked in the store as a teenager, and Kim Kardashian later wrote that her grandmother gave her her very first job there and taught her about work ethic, strength and confidence.

In July 2016 Shannon & Co. reopened in the La Plaza La Jolla complex at 7863 Girard Avenue after the old landlord moved to month-to-month leases. MJ told the La Jolla Light that the shop sold "unique and darling baby and children's things and clothes" and that customers who once shopped for their children were now shopping for their grandchildren. She devoted her working life to her stores and retired at the age of 82. When Kris later opened her own children's store, People reported, she was following her mother's lead, and that venture became the first of the family's boutiques.

Keeping Up with the Kardashians premiered on E! in October 2007, and MJ appeared throughout its run and later on Hulu's The Kardashians. Viewers came to know her as the family's grounded, witty grandmother who teased her relatives about their extravagant lifestyles and spoke openly about surviving cancer twice. The BBC noted that she drew her own fanbase with her one-liners and sage advice.

Memorable moments included a sit-down interview in which Kris asked about her biggest fear and MJ answered, "I try not to fear," before Kris broke down in tears at the thought of losing someone. The Kardashians also filmed her 90th birthday party in San Diego in 2024, where she said her greatest accomplishment was having her two daughters. Other clips showed the family fussing over her home and her independence, storylines that became fan favourites.

MJ married three times. Her first marriage, to her high school sweetheart at 18, lasted two months. In 1954 she married Robert True "Bob" Houghton, and they had two daughters, Kris (born 1955) and Karen (born 1958), before divorcing in 1962. Houghton died in 1975.

She then married businessman Harry Shannon, who helped raise both girls in San Diego and whom Kris regarded as her father. They shared about four decades together, building a life rooted in La Jolla, until his death in 2003.

Through Kris she was grandmother to Kourtney, Kim, Khloé and Rob Kardashian and to Kendall and Kylie Jenner. Her family obituary said she was survived by seven grandchildren and 13 great-grandchildren. Her daughter Karen died on March 18, 2024, at 65. Grandchildren recalled summers with her at the beach, long Sunday talks, tea sessions and her stories.

MJ's family described her values in consistent terms. Kris wrote that her mother taught her "to love your family fiercely, to be kind, to show up for the people you love, and to never take a single moment together for granted," and that she showed her how to face life's challenges with resilience and faith. Kim called her "the best example of strength and independence." In the days before her death she and Kris exchanged biblical quotations in the family group chat, according to screenshots Kim shared. She was known for her humour and her refusal to dwell on fear.

MJ's legacy is twofold. In La Jolla she is remembered as a shopkeeper whose children's boutique served generations of local families and visitors. In popular culture she is remembered as the matriarch behind the matriarch, the woman whose work ethic and family-first values her daughter and granddaughters repeatedly credited for their own success in retail and entertainment. Kris Jenner wrote, "There is not a part of me that isn't shaped by you," and Kim Kardashian described her as the woman who showed her "what it meant to be a hardworking businesswoman."

No formal awards for MJ have been reported. Her honours came from her family and community: milestone birthday celebrations filmed for television, an outpouring of tributes from her daughter and grandchildren after her death, and a Celebration of Life at La Valencia Hotel in La Jolla, one of the family's longtime favourite places, on what would have been her 92nd birthday.

In April 2021 an unedited poolside photograph of Khloé Kardashian circulated online. Takedown notices sent across Instagram, Twitter and Reddit, reportedly through the Los Angeles firm Lavely & Singer, stated that they came from counsel for Mary Jo "MJ" Shannon, identifying her as the person who took the photo and thus its copyright owner. A family spokesperson said the image was taken at a private family gathering and posted by an assistant by mistake. The episode drew wide comment as an example of the Streisand effect. On the day of her death in 2026, Kim Kardashian also faced criticism for a pre-scheduled post, which she explained had been planned before the family lost MJ.

Mary Jo Shannon died at a Los Angeles hospital on July 16, 2026, aged 91. Kris Jenner announced her death on Instagram the same day. Kim had written that she had been by her mother's and grandmother's side that week.

Her death certificate, obtained by Us Weekly and reported on July 28, 2026, listed acute cardiopulmonary arrest as the immediate cause, with acute respiratory failure and metastatic lung cancer, which she had lived with for months, as contributing conditions. No autopsy was performed, and she was cremated on July 23.

On July 26, 2026, what would have been her 92nd birthday, the family held a three-hour Celebration of Life at La Valencia Hotel in La Jolla. Her obituary was published in the La Jolla Light from July 30, 2026.