Sheila Anne Anderson

Sheila Margaret Anne Theresa (MacLeod) Anderson of Brewster, Massachusetts, died peacefully at home in the early morning hours of June 17th at the age of 80, after a long and arduous battle with pulmonary fibrosis.

Sheila, the youngest of four children, was born on April 15, 1944 to Catherine (MacEnaney) MacLeod and Norman MacLeod in Sutton Surrey, England. She is survived by her devoted and loving husband Leon; their five children Cathy Anderson Phillips, Kristen Anderson, John Anderson, Sarah Anderson, and Paul Anderson; her four grandchildren, Isabel and Gloria Anderson and Anna and Sean Phillips; as well as her brother Colin MacLeod, her sister Moya (MacLeod) Natalie and her dear cousin, Priscilla Gray. Sheila is predeceased by her parents, as well as her eldest brother Bryan MacLeod.

Sheila emigrated with her family at the age of four from London, England, following the war, and spent most of her childhood in West Haven and later, Windsor, Connecticut. In 1962, Sheila graduated from Windsor High School, where she was active as a cheerleader, wrote for the school newspaper, worked on the yearbook committee, and was voted “cutest girl” in her class. At Central Connecticut State College, Sheila met and fell in love with Leon Anderson, whom she married in 1966. While raising their five children together, Sheila was proud to earn her B.A. in English from Western Michigan University in 1982. While Leon’s career took their family to various states, the couple were thrilled to be able to retire to beautiful Cape Cod.

Sheila was a Beatles fan from the start, an accomplished seamstress, and manifested a lifelong love of learning. She found joy in reading, music, theatre, art, gardening, cooking, the beach, word games, and savoring the occasional Guinness or Irish whiskey. She was a formidable force in trivia games and once appeared as a contestant on the t.v. show Jeopardy. Sheila made dozens of patchwork quilts for children in need through Project Linus and was an active member of the Garden Club of Brewster and the Brewster Council on Aging’s Wonderful Older Women’s (WOW) group. She devoted many hours volunteering for the Cape Rep Theatre in Brewster.

A memorial service will be held for Sheila on Saturday, June 29th at Doane, Beal, & Ames, 729 Route 134, South Dennis, Massachusetts, with visitation starting at 10:00 a.m.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Sheila’s memory to Cape Rep Theatre in Brewster on Cape Cod at https://caperep.org/other-ways-to-give/.