6 minute read
Top Producer - Shannon Dye
Top Producer - Shannon Dye
Written by Susan Marquez Photography by Abe Draper Photography
Shannon Dye is thankful for each new day. She wakes up ready to take on the world, or at least her corner of it. She does everything with intention, and in her work as a real estate agent, she is patient and supportive. “I have been so loved in my life and I want to share that with others.”
An only child, Shannon says her parents adored her. She grew up in northeast Jackson where she attended First Presbyterian Day School and Jackson Preparatory School. “I had a great childhood.”
She knew about Hamp Dye when she was in the sixth grade. “He lived in my neighborhood.” They began attending the same school when they were in the eighth grade, but Shannon says she didn’t like him. “It was silly. He was the favorite student of a teacher who intimidated me; therefore I didn’t like him.”
They began dating their senior year of high school, and both went on to attend Ole Miss. “My parents went to Ole Miss and they hoped for great things for me. But the truth is, I went to Ole Miss to have fun and to marry Hamp Dye. I succeeded at both!”
But the fun came to an end one tragic day in 1987 when Shannon was participating in a charity walkathon with her sorority, Chi Omega. On a mild March day, with only five miles left of the 25-mile walk from Batesville to Oxford on Highway 6, a flatbed truck hauling a two-ton hay baler plowed over a Maxima that was driving behind the girls. The ensuing wreckage took five lives that day, and eleven more were injured, including Shannon. She landed in the hospital in Oxford with her jaw pushing into her brain, lacerations, broken ribs, and a punctured lung.
“Life changes after that kind of tragedy,” she says. “I look at things differently now. I have a greater appreciation for life. I’m truly happy to be here. Each birthday I’m thankful God has given me an ‘extra’ year. Since the accident, He has blessed me with a husband I’m crazy about, two incredible sons, two beautiful daughters-in-law, and three of the most precious granddaughters imaginable.”
Shannon graduated from Ole Miss with a degree in elementary education. She married Hamp over the Christmas holidays, then he went back to Oxford to get his master’s while Shannon stayed in Jackson to teach. “I loved my students, and they liked me, but I realized early on that teaching wasn’t for me.”
For the next few years, Shannon was a stay-at-home mom to their two sons, Nathan and David. When David began pre-K, Shannon had free time for the first time ever while he was in school. “I went to the mall a lot and after the first month, Hamp asked why our credit card bill was so high!” She quickly realized she had to do something.
Perhaps it was when Shannon purchased her first home that the seed was planted for her to one day sell real estate. “Jane Hyde was my REALTOR® and she was so patient with me. I enjoyed the process. Looking back on that event, it may have been why I considered getting into real estate.”
Shannon enrolled in classes at the Mississippi REALTORS® Institute and went to work at Coldwell Banker, because that’s where Jane worked. Later, she moved to Charlotte Smith Real Estate. When Charlotte sold the business, Shannon decided it was time to go on her own. She got her broker’s license in 2019 and started Dye & Company Real Estate.
Shannon had no intentions of missing any of her children’s events, and she believed real estate would work out well for her family. “I honestly believed that I would show houses while the boys were in school. Turns out, no one wants to look at houses then. But she managed to make it work without missing a single one of her boys’ events.
Both boys are grown and married. Nathan and his wife live in Oxford with their three daughters, and David and his wife live in Madison. “We go to Oxford every chance we get. I think I was well-suited to be a boy mom, but having granddaughters is the absolute sweetest thing ever. God has truly blessed me.”
The Dyes still love attending Ole Miss sporting events and are back to enjoying high school events as well. Hamp officiates for MAIS three to four times a week during the season. Shannon attends some of the games, preferably when no one knows her husband is one of the officials. She also attends other junior high and high school games when she can. They also enjoy watching their granddaughters’ soccer and basketball games. “Dance recitals are new for us, and they are quite long, but it’s worth it to see our tiny dancers. I’m inspired to look for a dance class for myself. Not ballet, but maybe hip hop, and I definitely want to get back into line dancing!”
Shannon says she grew up attending church and church functions at First Baptist in Jackson. “Church has always been such an important part of my life. I went to Sunday School and church in the morning, and back in the afternoon for choir (even though I can’t sing!), then youth group and evening church service. Wednesday nights we had Girls in Action and prayer meeting. I enjoyed being part of a youth group made up of kids from all over the Jackson area.” Now they attend the Madison and Oxford campuses of Pinelake where Shannon serves as a Greeter. “I am thankful my parents know and love Jesus. They led me to accept him as my Lord and Savior at an early age and provided me with a wonderful church home and many Christian mentors. I look forward to Heaven, but for now, I am happy here where I have the opportunity to help others through my work.”
