Inside the Bond Kris Jenner's Mom MJ Shannon Shared With Her Grandkids

Kim Kardashian Mourns Death of Her "Gossip Buddy" Grandma MJ Shannon

Kim Kardashian didn't mean to follow in her grandmother Mary Jo "MJ" Shannon's footsteps in this particular way, but she relished being able to compare notes.

"I just found this pic of my beautiful grandma MJ at her 1st wedding," Kim, whose 2011 marriage to Kris Humphries infamously lasted 72 days, shared on Instagram in 2018. "It lasted just 2.5 months and her family spent all they had on this wedding. She felt so bad but followed her heart. Kinda sounds familiar lol."

But such was an anecdote that Kim and her maternal grandmother could laugh about, one of countless bonding moments between MJ and her seven grandchildren, including her late daughter Karen Houghton's only daughter, Natalie Zettel.

Sadly, Kris Jenner shared July 16 that her mother died just a couple weeks shy of her 92nd birthday, meaning the Kardashian-Jenner family are now mourning their matriarch.

In paying tribute to her "best friend, my gossip buddy, my forever twin" in a July 16 tribute, Kim wrote that MJ "taught all of us the importance of family, and those values are something we’ll carry with us forever!!!!!"

And she endlessly cherished her grandma in life, as well.

"From staying with you in the summers growing up and u taking us to the beach to our long Sunday talks and tea sessions," Kim captioned an Instagram carousel when MJ turned 90 on July 26, 2024. "You really have been the best example of strength and independence."

Kim Kardashian/Instagram

And of course Kim wasn't the only one who considered MJ—who had daughters Kris and Karen with first husband Robert True Houghton, then married Harry Shannon (who died in 2003) and became stepmom to his son Steve Shannon—a singular figure in their lives.

Among the vast number of family members she had to choose from, Kourtney Kardashian picked MJ to witness her and Travis Barker's private courthouse vows in May 2022 before they threw a massive destination wedding in Italy.

To mark her "special, sweet, chic, sophisticated, smart and most wonderful" grandmother's 88th birthday that July, Kourtney posted never-before-seen photos of the VIPs (Barker's dad Randy Barker was the other witness), writing, "So happy you could be one of the only two guests we had when we were legally married, I will always remember this day and night with you."

Kim Kardashian/Instagram

Long preceding Kim, Kourtney and Khloe Kardashian—who opened their first Dash boutique before Keeping Up With the Kardashians took off in 2007—MJ had a children's clothing store in La Jolla, Calif., for decades. And not only did Kris work there as a teenager, her grandkids were no doubt inspired as well.

"They grew up playing in the store,” MJ told the Daily Beast in 2012. “I recall Kim sitting on this very floor and counting money. She would sing, ‘Counting is the game, and money is my name,’ or ‘Money is my name and counting is the game.’ Something like that."

Because of course there's no such thing as TMI when it comes to the Kards, Kim told MJ that she had inspired her in the bedroom as well as in business.

Or not the bedroom, exactly...

“Pete and I were staying at the Beverly Hills Hotel last weekend, and we were sitting in front of the fireplace, just talking for hours," Kim, who dated Pete Davidson between October 2021 and August 2022, shared with MJ on an episode of The Kardashians. "And I was like, 'My grandma told me that you really live life when you have sex in front of the fireplace,’ and so we had sex in front of the fireplace in honor of you.”

Unfazed, the great-grandmother of 13 concurred with Kim that maybe it was "creepy" to think of one's grandma before sex. But, the nonagenarian added, "I was younger once."

Instagram / Khloe Kardashian

Of course, shout-outs to MJ came in all shapes over the years. In 2016, Kylie Jenner got "Mary Jo" in script—her grandma's name in her grandfather's handwriting—tattooed in red on her inner arm.

And after Khloe welcomed daughter True Thompson with now ex-partner Tristan Thompson in April 2018, she revealed on her app that MJ was the one who suggested she name her first child True. (Congenially suggesting her ex-husband's middle name—which he got from his dad, True Otis Houghton—is yet another way MJ set an example for her inclusive, invite-the-exes-to-holidays offspring.)

In 2019 on KUWTK, Kendall Jenner offered help to MJ amid some health struggles, telling her grandma over the phone, “I just wanted to call you and tell you that Kylie and I took my mom so she could relax and that if you need anything, you can text me and Kylie."

Kris gratefully accepted her younger daughters' help, and Kylie assured her, “I would love to spend more time with MJ."

But while MJ gained her own brand of fame from her stalwart presence in their lives, she didn't add to her daughter and grandkids' massive social media footprint.

However, nor did she miss their affectionate tributes and sweet pics of the younger Kardashian-Jenner generations, Kim revealing on Instagram in 2020 that MJ actually "has a creep IG account to see what we’re all up to."

Kim Kardashian/Instagram

And here's hoping that heaven gets good WiFi.

In her July 16 tribute, Kim wrote to her grandma, "You were the woman who showed me what it meant to be a hardworking businesswoman. You always believed in me, championed me, and were my safe place. You truly were the matriarch of our family, and your love is woven into all of us. I know you’re at peace now."

And, the mother of four continued, "I know you are up in heaven, looking at all of our Instagram posts of you from your sneaky finsta account you would always use lol."

See more of MJ's life in Kris' precious family photos: