A favorite on the Kardashians' shows, the nonagenarian died earlier in July
A death certificate has revealed that Kris Jenner's mother, Mary Jo Shannon (née Campbell), died of acute cardiopulmonary arrest, according to Us Weekly. Essentially, the 91-year-old's heart and lungs stopped at the same time.
The medical report also revealed that Shannon, known affectionately to fans as “MJ,” suffered from acute respiratory failure and metastatic lung cancer. For the death certificate obtained by the outlet, she'd had these conditions for months.
Jenner reported on social media that her mother, grandmother to the Kardashian clan, had died on July 16. The death certificate said she was cremated on July 23 and that no autopsy was conducted. TMZ reported that Shannon previously battled breast and colon cancer and that Kim Kardashian had once said that radiation therapy had damaged her intestines.
“My mom was the heart of our family,” Jenner wrote in her tribute. “She taught me everything that truly matters… 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. She taught us that family is everything.”
Shannon was married three times, according to Us Weekly. Her second marriage to Bob Houghton produced two daughters, Kris and Karen Houghton. (Karen died in 2024.) MJ married her third husband, Harry Shannon, in 1962 and the couple remained together until his 2003 death.
Shannon had made regular appearances on Keeping Up With the Kardashians and the family's subsequent show, The Kardashians. Her granddaughters often spoke fondly of how much they admired the nonagenarian.
