Shawna Garland Hart, 50, of Bridgeport, WV, passed away on Saturday, August 15, 2026, at Ruby Memorial Hospital in Morgantown, WV.
She was born November 7, 1975, in Fairfax, VA, a daughter of Louise Garland Tanner and the late Thomas Daniel Hart.
She played on the McLean Little League All Stars and pitched for the Langley High School Saxons. During high school she served two years as a page in the United States Senate under Senators Orrin Hatch and Bob Dole, later returning as an intern and as a Senate elevator operator.
Not long after, she broke her back and was told by doctors that she would never walk again and would never have children. She proved them wrong on both counts. Tristan and Caitlyn were the center of her life. She and Jeremy Hart, her husband of eleven years and the father of her children, remained close friends throughout her life.
She returned to school and earned a Regents Bachelor of Arts from West Virginia University in 2024, graduating summa cum laude. She then went to work leading support groups, where she dedicated herself to helping others in recovery, regularly spending her own time and money researching activities and preparing materials for the people in her groups. She was devoted to her recovery community and to the people she met through it.
Shawna was raised Catholic. She adored animals, and her cockapoo, Lexi, followed her everywhere. She loved fast cars, especially her Mustang, and she was a lifelong fan of WVU and the Boston Red Sox.
She is survived by her children, Tristan Hart and Caitlyn Hart, both of Bridgeport, WV; her mother and step-father, Louise Garland Tanner and Ken Tanner of Watkinsville, GA; her sister, Karey Hart and her husband, Douglas Thayer, of McLean, VA.
She was preceded in death by her father, Thomas Daniel Hart.
A memorial service will be announced at a later date.
Shawna Hart