Sheila O'Brien Schimpf

Sheila O’Brien Schimpf, 77, of East Lansing, Michigan, passed away peacefully on October, 16, 2026, surrounded by her loved ones. Sheila spent her life sharing her words with people through her career in journalism and leaves a legacy through her written works, husband and children. Despite a diagnosis of breast cancer at age 41, Sheila lived to watch her three children graduate multiple times, attend their weddings, and travel the world together. She reveled in moments with her grandchildren.

Sheila was born on April 22, 1949, in Detroit and then moved to Livonia, where she graduated as the valedictorian of her class from Ladywood High School. She then graduated summa cum laude from the University of Detroit where she served as the editor in chief of the Varsity News newspaper. In the course of her work there she met her husband, Tom, and they became engaged 4 months later. Sheila worked briefly at the Bergen Record in New Jersey and then returned to Michigan in 1973 where she joined the staff of the Lansing State Journal. While at the State Journal, she worked as a columnist, feature writer and reporter for decades. She also taught journalism at Michigan State University after earning her masters degree in journalism there. After retirement, she worked for the Bureau of National Affairs as their Michigan correspondent, and also did freelance work including writing two books about dog breeds.

Sheila had seven golden retrievers over her life that she loved walking, showing and snuggling on her recliner. Sheila and Tom worked with the charity Paws With a Cause to bring 31 puppies into the world as service dogs. She also became a horsewoman, enjoying her days riding, jumping and grooming her horse Q at Fox Brush Farm in DeWitt.

In their 55 years of married life, Sheila and Tom were world travelers, enjoying cruises, walking tours and visiting their kids across the world and the country. They took “the trip of a lifetime” more than once, including a 2023 cruise to Alaska with the entire family.

She is survived by her husband Tom of East Lansing, Michigan; children Megan (Barry) of Ann Arbor, Michigan; Tim (Anne Hines) of Herndon, Virginia; and Daniel (Jeanne) of Menlo Park, California; and four grandchildren, Ramona, Beatrix, Jane and Maxwell. She was preceded in death by her parents, Rosemary and Patrick O’Brien, and is also survived by three siblings, Patricia Lelich (Tom) of Plymouth, Minnesota; Maureen O’Brien; and Terrence O’Brien (Masako) of Palm Beach, Florida.

A celebration of life will be planned for the near future. She will be buried in a private ceremony at Holy Sepulchre Cemetery in Southfield, Michigan, near her parents.

To honor Sheila, the family requests donations to Paws with a Cause (https://pawswithacause.org/donate) and Haven House (https://havenhouseel.org/give/).