Sheila Dunne Feitelberg

Faithful, witty and gracious, she approached any situation with great optimism and pragmatism. A mother of six and grandmother of 12, Feitelberg considered family to be an all-are-welcome entity.

Born in New York City, she grew up in Great Neck, N.Y., the youngest of five daughters born to Rosemary and Francis Patrick Dunne. Becoming an inveterate traveler was instilled early on in her childhood, due to her father's work as a thoroughbred racing steward. And as the years went by, the Triple Crown was something to relish regardless of the outcome.

After graduating from St. Mary's High School in Manhassett, she went on to Manhattanville College where she majored in English and minored in history. In the late Fifties, she decided to rescind plans to live and work in Manhattan to marry Joseph Feitelberg. After relocating to Massachusetts and while raising six children, she served as chairperson of the Fall River Public Library, leading efforts to modernize the historic building. Through the Fall River Junior League, she established the first welcome center for the USS Massachusetts, the Commonwealth's World War II battleship memorial, that her husband had championed in 1965.

Through a post-graduate course at Rhode Island School of Design, Feitelberg culled her interior design skills and an exacting eye. Art in all its forms, whether an afternoon winding through the Isabella Stuart Gardner Museum or a night at the Boston Pops, were not just to be enjoyed but discussed - at length. So much so, as her son John said, "You'd better bring your 'A' game to lunch and be ready to discuss the latest books you have read, the Chinese economy, Russian turn-of-the-century art and how to grow plants."

Always one to tell it to you straight, Feitelberg was the first person to tell you, "You know, life isn't always fair." A woman of great resolve, she overcame polio as a child, a feat that emboldened her, but one that she seldom revealed. Always on the move, she viewed each day as cause for an occasion whether that be actually entertaining a robust crowd at home, reveling in an afternoon at the Saratoga racetrack or creating a maypole for a May Day party for children. Recapping any gathering she was left with only one question, "Do you think people had fun?"

Fond of trips of any kind, her jaunts included descending into a coal mine along with 9,000 miners in Westphalia, Germany journeying up Vietnam's Mekong River to Ho Chi Minh City in 1998, orchestrating an all-too-often torrentially rainy Memorial Day weekend on Nantucket and assisting the infirmed at Lourdes. In her eyes, any return flight was the ideal time to plan the next trip.

Dedicating the latter part of her life to serve those more in need, Feitelberg founded the Fall River Hospice in 1990 and remained involved for four years. From 1998 through 2010, she cofounded the St. Mary's Education Fund, helping to raise $5.5 million for the benefit of 6,000 children. As an integral member of the Oder of Malta-American Association from 1994 until the end of her life, Feitelberg was elected to its Board of Councillors in 2009, a role she took on with great enthusiasm.

Always up for conversation and a good read, she was fueled by the latest news and took great interest in the many people who intersected her life, and daily routine. John Andrew O'Neil said, "She always was able to instill a level of confidence in others, just through a conversation. And, to me there's really no better trait."

In addition to her husband, she is survived by her sisters Rosemary Hardart Dobbin of Bronxville, NY; Moira Desloge of Tallahassee, FL and Kathleen Van Bloem of Pompton Plains, NJ; her daughters Mary Patricia Feitelberg of Fall River and her husband Peter Sawyer; Susan Feitelberg and her husband Andre Lejeune of New York, NY her son John Feitelberg and his wife Polly of Fall River; daughters Jane MacKeen and her husband Michael of Sudbury, MA; Rosemary Feitelberg of New York, NY and Christopher Smith; and another son Mark Feitelberg and his wife Elizabeth of Wayland, MA. She is also survived by her grandchildren John Henry, Hannah, Ben and Paulina Feitelberg; Catherine, Caroline, Jack and Mary MacKeen, Elsie, Grace and Whitney Feitelberg and Thomas Lejeune.

Her funeral will be held on Saturday, February 13, 2016 at 9:30am from the Waring-Sullivan Home of Memorial Tribute at Cherry Place, 178 Winter St., Fall River, followed by her Funeral Mass at 11am in Church of the Holy Name, 709 Hanover St., Fall River, MA. Visiting hours will be Friday 3 to 7PM. In lieu of flowers, donations may be sent in Sheila’s memory to the Order of Malta Pilgrimage Foundation (for the sick guests it serves), 1011 First Avenue, Suite 1350L, New York, NY 10022; or the Fall River Public Library Foundation, 104 North Main Street, Fall River, MA 02720. For complete obituary, online tributes and directions please visit: www.waring-sullivan.com