Elizabeth Sheehey

Obituary: ELIZABETH SHEEHEY BURLINGTON - Elizabeth Alice (Leary) Sheehey died peacefully at her home in Burlington on Sept. 4, 2011. She was born Jan. 19, 1920, at her family's house on East Avenue in Burlington, the eldest daughter of Moses and Lena (Chapman) Leary. A 1937 graduate of Mount Saint Mary's Academy, Elizabeth graduated from Trinity College in 1941, where she was active in drama, music and basketball. She worked at Vermont State Employment Service in Montpelier until 1946. She married Paul Donovan Sheehey on May 6, 1946, beginning their married life in Boston (where he attended law school), then making their home in Burlington. Together they raised their 11 children. As if bringing up 11 children were not enough, she welcomed grandchildren while her youngest was still in kindergarten. She was a skilled craftsperson (donating hundreds of pairs of mittens to bazaars); an enviable baker (leaving treasured pie crust and bread recipes); an uncomplaining home manager; a firm believer in the clothesline; and a practitioner of the Corporal Works of Mercy. Her care and skills extended beyond her family, bringing sustenance to elderly neighbors and warming newborns with hand-quilted blankets over the years. She took pleasure in reading mysteries, completing the daily crossword, writing and publishing the family newsletter, following her one share of Boston Celtics stock, and watching the children next door grow up. Her life was enriched by close friends and classmates, including Sheila Hartnett, Jane Allen, Viola Bove, Tissie Bard, Freddy Rowley, Mary Abair, and Gert Quinn. A lifelong member of the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, Elizabeth received each of her sacraments there, beginning with her baptism at six days old, arriving by sleigh. She was much, much more than a Sunday Catholic, living her faith and certain of the eternal reward granted to all believers. She was predeceased by her beloved husband of 58 years, Paul; her brothers, Francis and Richard; her sisters, Helena and Sister Marian Leary, RSM; her brothers-in-law, Rev. Robert Sheehey, SSE, and George Dowhan; and her sister-in-law, Betty Leary. She leaves 11 children and their spouses, Mary and Gary Ackel, John and Linda Sheehey, James and JoAnn Sheehey, Margaret Sheehey and Larry Hendee, Martha Sheehey, Maura and Michael Morse, Joel and Shari Sheehey, Johanna and Bruce Jones, Miriam Sheehey and Edward Stone, Joyce Sheehey, and Jean Sheehey. They were raised in the days before self-esteem, and yet each was her favorite. She leaves 20 grandchildren and spouses, Paula (Stephen) Dion, Gregory Ackel, Timothy (Jennifer) Sheehey, Matthew (Lisa) Sheehey, Caitlin (Scott) Fay, Simon Sealey, Andrew (Christine) Sealey, Meg Sealey (Caleb Thomas), John Sealey, Martin Sealey, Ellen Sheehey, Nathan Morse, Benjamin Morse, Joseph (Aryn) Morse, William Morse, Luke Morse, Christine Sheehey, Karen (Joshua) Corbin, Annie Jones, and Abel Jones; 13 great-grandchildren, Libby, Thomas and Jacob Dion, Max Ackel, Dominic Sheehey, Peter Sheehey, Mason and Molly Fay, Gianna and Lilianna Sealey, Xavier and Myiah Ducharme, and Kieran Morse. In addition, Elizabeth leaves two sisters, Catherine Dowhan, and Dorothy Millette and husband, Edward; one brother, Rev. Richard (Lawrence) Leary, C.P.; two sisters-in-law, and their husbands, Joan and Edward Pfeifer, and Joyce and Robert Stanton; and many dear nieces and nephews and their families. The family wishes to thank Elizabeth's friend and caregiver, Karen Merriam, as well as her wise and compassionate physician, Dr. Zail Berry. Visiting hours will be held Monday, Sept. 5, 2011, from 4 to 7 p.m. at LaVigne Funeral Home, 132 Main Street, Winooski. A Mass of Christian Burial will be held on Tuesday, Sept. 6, 2011, at 10 a.m. at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, 20 Pine Street, Burlington with interment to follow at Resurrection Park, South Burlington.