of Henry B. III (Millicent) Sheets, Michael F. (Eileen) Sheets and Wendy S. Mathias (fiancé Matthew Mitchell); grandmother of Charlotte, Henry IV, Michael F., Jr., Rand D.,Elliott T. (Paulina), Regan E. Sheets, Lindsay Jane, Molly S. and Edward W. Mathias II; sister of Patricia F. Robb; aunt of Gail Sanderson; Jane was buried with her beloved Sam. No prior visitation, services private. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Erie County SPCA, 300 Harlem Rd., West Seneca, NY 14224. www. denglerrobertspernafuneral.com
The March 1951 wedding of Jane Weed Forman and Lt. Henry B. "Benny" Sheets Jr. of Buffalo in Florence, Italy, gave some two dozen relatives and friends a story to last a lifetime.
In January 1951, Miss Forman was studying at the University of Florence while her fiance was a lieutenant in the 351st Infantry, stationed in Trieste, "but expecting to be moved at any moment," according to the Buffalo Courier-Express.
A May wedding was planned, but in a late January trans-Atlantic phone call to her grandmother, the bride-to-be suggested that the nuptials might happen earlier.
So a group of 22 Buffalonians, including both sets of parents, set off on the SS Vulcania for the social event across the globe.
Mrs. Sheets, who lived on several bases as an Army wife, traveled the world and explored tropical reefs, died March 15, 2020, in her Buffalo home after a short period of declining health. She was 91.
Her March 26, 1951, wedding was a huge success and a longtime topic of conversation. Guests who were quoted in the April 22, 1951, Courier-Express society column "Through the Periscope," written by Lucy Laureate, described the festivities as "fascinating." The morning civil ceremony was performed by the mayor of Florence in one of the "grandest and most gorgeous rooms" of the famed Palazzo Vecchio, decked with "red brocaded walls, gold mirrors, priceless tapestries and hangings, a room used only on very important occasions," according to the column.
After a luncheon, a religious ceremony in the small British Episcopal church was followed by a gala reception in the Grande Hotel for "American and Italian dignitaries, school friends of Jane, and Benny's officer friends from Trieste, as well as the Buffalo group," the columnist wrote. The week's celebrations included a garden cocktail party and a rooftop dinner dance.
The columnist concluded: "Small wonder that Jane and Benny's wedding was a unique and never-to-be-forgotten experience for all who made the trip to Europe!"
Mrs. Sheets was known to share the story of her romantic and unusual wedding, said her daughter, Wendy Mathias, but she did so in a matter-of-fact manner.
"It was just something that happened," her daughter said.
Born Oct. 26, 1928, a daughter of Lawrence C. and Jane Forman of Oakland Place, Mrs. Sheets attended the Elmwood School, which later merged with the Franklin School to become Elmwood Franklin School.
She studied at Buffalo Seminary, then the Greenwood School in Ruxton, Md.
She graduated from Stephens College, a private women's college in Columbia, Miss.
Her husband, Major Henry B. Sheets Jr., was a Buffalo native and 1949 graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. During the early years of their marriage, they were stationed at Fort Bragg, N.C.; Fort Leavenworth, Kan.; Fort Richardson, Alaska; Fort Benning, Ga.; and in Rosemont, Pa. They moved back to Buffalo in the mid-1960s when Major Sheets retired from the Army.
She spent her childhood summers in Niagara-on-the-Lake and as a young mother took her children there as well.
Through the years, Mrs. Sheets and her husband traveled the world.
An accomplished snorkeler, she explored the reefs of Thailand, Belize and the U.S. and British Virgin Islands. At the age of 80, she swam with whale sharks in the Philippines.
In later years, she spent her summers in Nantucket with her husband, three children and eventually their grandchildren.
A member of the Nantucket Conservation Foundation and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute, she was passionate about the preservation of the oceans and their inhabitants, particularly whales and sharks.
"My mother was a fiercely independent woman," said her daughter. "Up until six months ago, she was living by herself and doing everything on her own."
Mrs. Sheets was a member of the Garret Club, a women's clubhouse on Cleveland Avenue, and a lifetime member of the Albright-Knox Art Gallery.
When she was younger, Mrs. Sheets entertained a wide circle of friends, Wendy Mathias said, but as time passed, she focused on her family, especially her grandchildren. "She was very active on social media," said her daughter. "She kept in touch with her grandchildren on Facebook and by texting."
Her husband of 50 years, Henry B. Sheets Jr., died on Feb. 16, 2011.
Besides her daughter, she is survived by two sons, Henry B. III "Benny" and Michael Sheets; a sister, Patricia F. Robb; and nine grandchildren.
After private services, Mrs. Sheets was buried in Forest Lawn Cemetery. A memorial service will be held at a time and place to be announced.
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