After a decades-long battle with cancer, James Michael Sheehan of Livonia passed suddenly but peacefully at 2:50pm on Saturday, June 19, at the age of 70 with his family by his side.
Born in Warsaw, Jim started out working on the family farm and for the family school bus company before taking a job at Westinghouse in Attica. In 1985, he started as a Corrections Officer with the NYS Department of Corrections and worked his way up to retire as a Lieutenant in 2010. During his career, he sometimes had to work downstate and when he did he would find a Catholic church; he said going to mass would make wherever he was feel like home. He was a parishioner of St. Matthew’s Church in Livonia.
Throughout his long battle with cancer, he was brave and positive, inspiring his family as he faced treatments, tests, and procedures. His family hopes to borrow his strength. He made a point of knowing all the names of all his nurses and doctors; he would ask about their families or their sports teams. They all loved his smile.
Jim was the very best friend and husband of 47 years to his wife, Judy (nee Werner) Sheehan. His children aspire to his relationship with Judy and the love between them. He was a devoted father and grandfather who was never happier than when he was around his family: his three loving children, Annie (Jamie) Parry, Michael (Mary) Sheehan, and Paul, and his seven grandchildren, James, Jacob, Emily, Isabel, Matthew, Beatrice, and Finnegan. He wanted his grandkids around all the time and they wanted to be around him because he made them feel they were perfect exactly as they are. He never missed their volleyball, softball, baseball games, or swim meets; their plays, academic events, recitals, and dances. They all carry his commitment to family, his work ethic, and they all tell his jokes and stories.
He is preceded in death by his parents, Edward and Evelyn Sheehan, and his brother Tom and sister Mary. He is survived by four brothers, John (Jackie), Kevin (Mary), George (Jade), Carl (Jean), and two sisters, Kathy Ackerman and Joan Kibler, as well as many loving nieces and nephews.
He was a lifelong Yankees fan. He was so funny and redefined “patriarch” as a goofball who radiates love. He was the perfect combination of generous and kind and wickedly mischievous. His large heart and sense of humor were an inspiration to many. Our loss is devastating, but it’s hard not to smile just thinking about him. There’s more to say, endless things to say, but we are so grateful that he lives on through the love he gave his family. We all wish we were as great as we were in his (often embellished) stories.
Family and friends are welcome to call at the Kevin W. Dougherty Funeral Home 21 Big Tree Street, Livonia NY 14487. Friday June 25, 2021 3-6PM. Jim’s Funeral Mass will be held Saturday June 26, 2021 in St. Matthews’s Catholic Church 6591 Richmond Mills Road at 10:00AM. Jim’s Internment will be held privately at a later date in St. Vincent’s cemetery, Attica NY.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center
.
To share a memory or condolence visit www.doughertyfuneralhomes.com