Eva Sheehan, BVM
Eva Sheehan, BVM died Friday, April 1, 2016, at Marian Hall in Dubuque, Iowa. Visitation will be from 9–11 a.m. on Wednesday, April 6, 2016, in the Marian Hall Chapel followed by a prayer service at 11 a.m. Funeral liturgy will be at 1:30 p.m. Burial is in the Mount Carmel cemetery.
She was born in Killarney, Ireland, on April 12, 1917, to Harry and Ellen Connor Sheehan. She entered the BVM congregation Sept. 8, 1937, from St. Paul Parish, San Francisco. She professed first vows on March 19, 1940, and final vows on Aug. 15, 1945.
Sister Eva was a lifelong elementary school teacher in Dubuque, Iowa; Maywood and Chicago, Ill.; Casper, Wyo.; Hempstead, N.Y.; Wahiawa Oahu and Kauai, Hawaii; Rapid City, S. D.; Kansas City, Mo.; and Glendale, Calif.
She was preceded in death by her parents; sisters: Jane Therese Clifford, BVM; Pauline Clifford, BVM; Dorita Clifford, BVM; Norinne Clifford, SHF; and Ellen Vitorelo; and brothers: John J. Clifford; Rev. Daniel Clifford, SJ; and Daniel Sheehan. She is survived by a sister, Margaret Kotlanger, San Francisco; nieces and nephews; and the Sisters of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, with whom she shared life for 78 years.
Sister Eva Sheehan, BVM
Funeral Welcome
Marian Hall, April 6, 2016
Good afternoon and welcome to the celebration of life of our Sister Eva Sheehan.
Eva Sheehan once requested that she be remembered as one who “lived, laughed and loved life.” Her life began on April 12, 1917, as Honoria (Nora) in Killarney, Ireland. She joined a brother Daniel as the second child born to Harry and Ellen Connor Sheehan. When her father died in 1919, she lived with her paternal grandparents until she was 5 years old when her aunt and uncle, Mary and Patrick Clifford, brought her to San Francisco and raised her as their ninth child. Nora loved growing up “with so many brothers and sisters.”
Nora was in one of the earliest graduating classes at St. Paul’s, which opened the year before she was born. It was there that she formed a special friendship with Sister Mary St. Cyril Byrne and adored Sister Mary Charitine Mahoney. Following in the footsteps of three Clifford daughters, Sisters Jane Therese, Pauline, and Dorita, she entered the congregation on Sept. 8, 1937, and received the name Eva upon her reception on March 19, 1938. She professed her first vows on March 19, 1940, and lived 78 years as a BVM.
Eva taught kindergarten and primary grades across our vast nation. Her first mission was to teach first grade at St. Raphael in Dubuque, Iowa, where, in her words, “I was a little bit bigger than they were.” She was later missioned at St. Eulalia in Maywood, Ill.; St. Anthony in Casper, Wyo.; Our Lady of Loretto in Hempstead, N.Y.; St. Charles and Annunciation in Chicago; Our Lady of Sorrows in Wahiawa, Oahu and Holy Cross in Kalaheo, Kauai, both in Hawaii; Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Rapid City, S.D.; Regis-O’Hara in Kansas City, Mo.; and Holy Family in Glendale, Calif. She also taught religion on Wake Island, Guam, for six weeks one summer.
Highly regarded for her skill with and love of little children, Eva was invited to establish and manage kindergarten programs at St. Frances Regis in Kansas City and at Holy Family in Glendale. She also established a preschool nursery for 2 1/2 to 4-year-olds in Casper and taught in this program for seven summers. Of all the places where she was missioned, Hawaii was her favorite because of the beauty of the land.
Eva moved to Mount Carmel in 2000, leaving behind Holy Family parish where she had lived for 14 years. A sixth-grader who Eva taught in kindergarten wrote, “Sister Mary Eva is known by almost all at Holy Family Parish. You can know who she is from her sparkling eyes and big smile. Her personality is also as noticeable as her appearance. She is very joyous, almost never frowning. Sister Eva also has a big heart . . . very generous and helping.” A parent wrote that Sister Eva was “the first grade teacher for [my husband] and our two oldest children. She loved each of them at a time in their lives when they needed special love and belief.”
Eva was a very special person. She had many friends simply because she herself was warm and outgoing. She possessed a delightful sense of humor, often seen in a wink of her eye or a knowing glance, and might be described as impish, always ready for a bit of loving mischief. It’s interesting to note that she died on April Fool’s Day.
Eva was very interested in community issues and a faithful participant in Sister Kitty Lawlor’s BVM Community History class. She loved to say, “I’m going to class.” She was spunky and lived her life fully to the very end.
St. Peter wrote, “Let your love for one another be intense . . . As each one has received a gift, use it to serve one another as good stewards of God’s varied grace.” Eva both loved deeply and was deeply loved. She once described her vocation as “responding to God’s work in saving souls,” but truly it was to love—to love her family, her friends, her BVM sisters, her students and life.
Eva also promised to “continue [her] work by interceding with [her] Creator for those [she] leaves.” With gratitude we remember Eva and her many years of serving and loving, and rejoice with her as she enters eternal life. Taking Eva at her word, we are confident that she continues to intercede for us to our loving God.