17
The Signal | Winter 2014–2015
Safer Roads Save Lives
Remembering a Loving Father
Daughter Andrea Pair Received The Foundation Scholarship
It was an ordinary spring day in April when Andrea Leeann Pair,
18, received an envelope that would lift a weight off her shoulders
and bring some unexpected good news. Pair’s mother, Carisa
Leeann Hartsfield, walked in her room in Centerton, Arkansas,
and handed her an envelope with the words “The Foundation”
typed on the front. Not sure if she had won something, she opened
the letter and was astounded to find that she was awarded a $5,000
Roadway Worker Memorial Scholarship from the American
Traffic Safety Services Foundation.
“I was nervous to open the letter, because I didn’t know what to expect,” said Pair. “When I
saw that it was a $5,000 scholarship, I was surprised. I have never been so thankful for a
piece of paper in my life.”
Pair studies chemistry at Northeastern State University in Tahlequah, Oklahoma, with the
goal of becoming a pharmacist. Her mother wanted to help her realize this dream and worked
hard to help her pay the bills and prevent Pair from taking out student loans. The scholarship
allowed her to have a less stressful college experience and concentrate on her studies.
Pair received a scholarship from The Foundation because of the traumatic circumstances in
her young life. When she was just two years old, her father, Shannon L. Pair, worked for
Time Striping, Inc., in Van Buren, Arkansas. On August 19, 1998, while he worked removing
stripes from a highway, Shannon was struck by a car and killed. Thirty-one-year-old
Shannon left his young wife, a baby boy named Logan and his first-born child, Andrea.
Looking at photos of Pair and her father, it is evident how precious his adorable daughter was
to him. “I was the first child and the center of my dad’s world,” said Pair. “I can remember the
crazy, blond mullet he had. Till this day, I get comments about how much I look like him.”
Pair reminisces about how Shannon would always take pictures of the both of them, long
before “selfies” were popular. The photos document holidays and special moments they
shared in their too-short life together. A photo shows proud parents Shannon with Carisa
holding a newborn Pair. At Christmas, Shannon seems as excited as his daughter, as he
watches her toddle over to stacks of red packages under a glistening Christmas tree that
towers above her. Another photo shows them making silly faces for the camera. Another
moment caught on camera is Pair at her dad’s side tenderly holding his baby son, Logan, who
is now 16. (She also has a 14-year-old sister named Breanna Hartsfield.)
Shannon’s love of his wife and children, sense of humor and hard work in the roadway industry
made him cherished by family, friends and coworkers. Pair is growing up with memories and
Andrea Leeann Pair
Shannon
(left)
and Carisa Pair take
a family photo with always-smiling,
first-born child, Andrea.
Always together, two-year-old Andrea
Pair
(right)
and her father, Shannon,
make silly faces for the camera.
