Sheila Marie Fitzgerald was born to Thomas and Helen Fitzgerald at 9:14 pm on December 14, 1942 during a blackout in Denver, Colorado. She was one of six children. Her husband, Dave, her parents and siblings Patrick, Jerry and Karen Grant preceded Sheila in death. Sheila is survived by her sons, Greg and Jeff, daughter Stephanie and her brothers Tim and Terry Fitzgerald.
Sheila had a love of gardening, the Denver Broncos, and art – she attended the Denver Art school after finishing high school at St. Francis de Sales. Later in life, she enjoyed crossword puzzles – especially testing herself every day with the New York Times puzzle. Sheila was an independent and determined woman who loved deeply and cheered loudly.
Sheila inspired many people in different ways. Stephanie is inspired by Sheila’s strength and how she never gave up on anything. Greg believes his ability to balance self-reliance, with asking for help is something his mom showed him when he was growing up. Jeff saw Sheila’s deep love expressed in the ways she felt responsible for other and was concerned about their well-being. Even in her final weeks, she asked whether the family caregivers were doing too much. During this time of 24-hour care from the family, Sheila felt loved and expressed gratitude to the family.
Sheila met her future husband, David Cann in 1964. They quickly fell in love and were married nine months later, October 24, 1964 in a joint wedding ceremony with her sister, Karen. Dave and Sheila experienced many adventures in their marriage, including opening Pet Adventure pet shop on Federal Blvd in Denver. They lived in Northglenn, Colorado until 1975 when Dave accepted a sales position with a publisher and moved their young family to Colorado Springs, Colorado.
In Colorado Springs, their family life was full of many activities and both Sheila and Dave were devoted to one another and their children. Sheila was both the family seamstress and barber. She taught her skills of self-sufficiency to her children as they learned skills to take care of the home: cooking, laundry, and yard work.
She encouraged her children to get involved in activities and was often quick to volunteer. They were active in Brownies, Cub and Boy Scouts, school sports and music, along with many laughter-filled family nights playing games, amid a multitude of pets, mostly dogs. Sheila always made herself available to attend the activities, to encourage, console, and cheer.
One of Stephanie’s favorite memories of Sheila was a mother-daughter trip to New York City. They experienced many sights, sounds, and energy of the city. They used their keen sense of shopping at dollar stores to find their hotel, which was next to a 99-cent shop. They both loved their visit to Central Park and especially enjoyed the famous horse and carriage ride.
Jeff enjoyed the time we took Grandma on a family vacation to Quintana Roo, Mexico. This was her first trip outside of the U.S. She enjoyed the big pool and the beach and especially day trips to visit the Mayan ruins at Chitzen Itza and Tulum.
Greg relished seeing his mom become an awesome grandmother. One of his favorite memories was getting mom to come up for the Broncos Super Bowl victory party held in downtown Denver. How we somehow managed to squeeze onto a jam-packed light rail just in time for it to leave the station. She was thrilled that they won another Super Bowl and was going to be in crowd at the end of the parade.
Sheila returned to work in the mid 1980s at jobs where she could utilize her organizational and administrative skills. For the most part, she enjoyed working; however, there were two jobs that she described as “terrible”. Yet she showed her character in her willingness to work at these jobs to help provide for her family and their future. These examples and lessons were inscribed in her children’s temperaments.
She finished her career with her favorite job at Ent Federal Credit Union. Retiring in 2008 to spend time in the garden and become active in her community and parish, and spoiling her grandchildren, Lindsay, Aidan, Grant and Grace.
Memorial services will be held at: St Patrick Roman Catholic Church, 6455 Brook Park Dr, Colorado Springs, CO 80918. Services begin with praying the Rosary at 11:15 am, funeral mass at 12 pm and a luncheon where family and friends can share their memories of this beloved woman.
