Mary Patricia O'Connell Shea

Mary Patricia O'Connell Shea passed away August 5, 2014. Pat was born May 29, 1925, in Canton, OH, to William L. and Louise (Griffith) O'Connell. She was the youngest of four children. Her siblings, William O'Connell, Lewis O'Connell and Ruth (O'Connell) King, preceded Pat in death. The daughter of a steel salesman and a homemaker, Pat moved with her family throughout the Midwest during her childhood, eventually landing in Indianapolis, where she graduated from high school. She then earned her nursing certification at St. Vincent Hospital in Indianapolis and practiced as an RN in Arizona and Florida. She met her husband Ed while drawing his blood during a Red Cross blood drive on the Davis-Monthan AFB in Tucson, AZ, early in his military career. Ed preceded Pat in death by just over a month. Pat and Ed married August 8, 1953, and together raised five children: Michael Brian (Boston), Bridget Noreen, Kathleen Moira, Brendan Dermott and Patrick Martin (all of Denver). Pat is survived by all of their children as well as a grandson, Martin Brendan Shea. Pat and Ed settled with their children in Colorado Springs following Ed's Air Force career, which took the family to Europe, the Middle East and the western U.S. Pat returned to college in the 1970s and earned a bachelor's degree in English at the University of Colorado-Colorado Springs. Together, the Shea family enjoyed skiing, hiking and bicycling. Upon educating their children, Pat and Ed volunteered at medical clinics in developing countries as a nurse and doctor team. They worked together in Guatemala, El Salvador, Belize, Ecuador and Honduras, mixing a love of travel and a desire to help others. They eventually resettled in downtown Denver. Pat will be remembered for many things, most especially for her devotion to her children, her love of dogs, her deep Catholic faith and her ability to see and bring out the best in people. To know her was also to embrace her lifelong, unwavering loyalty to the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame, whose football team occasionally inspired her to bet a whole dollar. She loved to laugh and sing and she enjoyed all music, especially Broadway tunes and jazz standards. Pat held a great appreciation of different cultures and had a heartfelt interest in every person she met. There will be a viewing Monday, August 11, 2014, 6:00 PM followed by a praying of the Rosary at 7:00 PM, both at Horan & McConaty Family Chapel, 3020 Federal Blvd. (at Speer), Denver, CO 80211. A funeral Mass will be held Tuesday, August 12, 2014, 10:00 AM at Holy Ghost Catholic Church, 1900 California St., Denver, CO 80202. The committal service will follow later in the week at Ft. Logan National Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, memorials in Pat Shea's name may be made to the Denver Dumb Friends League, 2080 So. Quebec St,, Denver, CO 80231, or the Alzheimer's Association of Colorado, 455 Sherman St., Ste. 500, Denver, CO 80203. Please share your memories of Pat and condolences with her family by signing the guestbook below.