She was a lifelong resident of the Kansas City area, aside from a brief residency in both California and Texas. She met Michael Conrad Shehan in her early teens, a boy she absolutely loathed upon first impressions, deeming him a “dirty little hick hoodlum”. She got over it though because they married on February 7th, 1964 in a small ceremony in her mother’s home. They shared a life of love and happiness until his untimely death in August of 1979. She gave birth to a single son in December of 1976 – Michael Justin. She would later have two grandsons: Michael Conrad (the second, after his late grandfather), and Isaac Connor – both of whom she adored more than anything in the universe, spending most of her retirement years spoiling them absolutely rotten with love and affection (and coffee - why did she have to get them started on coffee?).
During her lifetime she did a little bit of everything from waitressing in her youth (she once played server to the Harlem Globetrotters who spent their evening “assisting” her with their trays and dishes and plates in their trademark on-court antics manner), to being a part-time truck dispatch operator for a shipping company following her retirement. The bulk of her working career was spent in Human Resources where she worked as a Benefits Specialist/Administrator for Charter Bank (First National Bank of Kansas City), which later became Boatmen’s Bank, which then became Nations Bank, which finally became Bank of America. Having had enough of all the name changing, she left the banking world and spent her final HR years with H & R Block and their subsidiary corporation Block Financial.
She loved flowers, and baking, and enjoyed painting on glass and ceramics. She could crochet the hell out of a scarf or a nice throw cover. Christmas Tree Decorating, Level: Master. She could decorate a tree like nobody’s business. She loved collecting Hallmark tree ornaments (seriously...SO many ornaments). She loved reading – everything from romance paperbacks to bestselling spy thrillers. She loved movies – especially ones with lots of explosions, and comedies...her laugh was boisterous and infectious. And then there was music. Second only to her love of her family, music probably brought her the most joy in her life. She came from a very musical family that, in her younger days, spent many an evening making music together.
Late in life she developed an extreme intolerance for cold after her scales grew in, and her need for warmth could only be satiated by spreading herself out over hot rocks and sands in the deepest of deserts. As such, she was crowned Queen of the Lizard People – a title she held until her death. Obviously that last part isn’t true, just a long-running inside joke she shared with her son because she was constantly “freezing”. He promises you, if she were here, she’d be laughing her ### off.
She was fiercely loyal to her friends and loved ones. She could also be stubborn as an old mule. But most of all though, she was so very loving, generous, and kind. It’s that loving spirit that will be missed the most.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Michael Conrad Shehan (Mike); her parents, Ethel Mae Sharp, and Emma (Em) Leroy Sharp; and also her three sisters, Kate Medley, Ruby Goff, and Betty Bush, and two brothers, Rhoder Sharp and Wayne Sharp.
She is survived by her son, Michael Justin Shehan (Mikee); daughter-in-law, Samantha Victoria Jean Shehan (née Buffey), and two amazing grandsons – Michael Conrad Shehan II, and Isaac Connor Shehan. As well as a plethora of great friends, Sisters and Brothers-in-law, and nieces and nephews – all of whom she cared for deeply...but are simply too numerous to name here.
Visitation will be on Friday, January 14th, 2022 from 10:00 am - 11:30 am at the McGilley & Hoge Chapel, 8024 Santa Fe Drive, Overland Park, Kansas. Celebration of Life Service will follow at 11:30 am at the chapel. Inurnment in St. John Catholic Cemetery in Lenexa, Kansas. Contributions in Shirley's memory may be made to Autism Speaks.
Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.mcgilleyhoge.com for the Shehan family.
