Sharon Quigley-McCann

Sharon Quigley McCann opened her beautiful blue Irish eyes for the final time after her long last walk on this earth. No one present doubted for a moment as she smiled her radiant smile for a full minute, that she saw heaven, liked when she saw, and strode there willingly and confidently. She settled back, closed her eyes and died with the same wonderful smile that had graced her face as she courageously embraced all of her life's victories and challenges. Sharon Quigley McCann was born April 11, 1936, the first daughter of Walter R. and Melvina Chapman Quigley, in Wichita, Kansas. She and her sister, Carla, became accomplished dancers at a young age and spent many hours, during their growing up years, entertaining World War II soldiers in the big military hospitals in Kansas. They sang and danced numbers arranged for them by their mother who also accompanied them and made their costumes. Sharon graduated from East Wichita High School. She married Thomas Paul McCann on August 8, 1955 and moved with him to his family's cattle ranch between Culbertson and Bainville, Montana, along the Missouri River-- the Diamond. There, she lived the next two decades of her life. Tom and Sharon had nine children. Sharon became an author, published in a variety of magazines. She was a member of the Roosevelt County Library Board, the Saint Anthony's Catholic Church Altar Society and the Culbertson PTA. She taught dancing and was involved in various Democratic political campaigns. She was a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution. Though she maintained a certain 'city girl' flair, Sharon was happy during her Montana ranch years and enjoyed the challenge of becoming an able country wife as well. She nursed calves left in snowbanks, killed rattlesnakes who threatened her children, fed thousands of meals to ranch hands, saddled horses and chased cows back into their pastures. She was a wonderful cook, an accomplished seamstress, a great gardener and a warm hostess, welcoming visitors from near and far to her family's lovely, large table-- no warning, no notice, it mattered not to Sharon. Most of her energies, of course, were dedicated to the rearing of her large, active and accomplished family, each of whom she loved passionately and of whom she remained immensely proud through the moment of her death. She knew each child, grandchild and great grandchild, their interests, accomplishments and idiosyncrasies; and she truly believed that every single one was a star-- so much did she believe that very often, they, too, came to believe and proved her right! In 1974, Tom and Sharon moved with their family to the state of Colorado where she remained until the time of her death. She taught dancing for many years and maintained a variety of other positions as a writer, proofreader and copywriter for magazines, law firms, department stores and other institutions. Endowed with an indomitable delight in life, though Sharon's health failed in recent years, she fought valiantly to continue ever longer in sharing its adventures with her friends and family. She welcomed every opportunity for any adventure and especially for any trip anywhere. She told her children that her grandmother had told her when she was a young girl that she should never miss an opportunity for a good time; and her life, even in the last weeks, showed that she took that advice seriously indeed. In the end, surrounded by all nine of her children during her last hours, she succumbed to heart attack, stroke and a prolonged gastric obstructive disease. Sharon's parents preceded her in death. Left to mourn her passing and celebrate her life are her children: Teresa Marie and William J. O'Connor II of Billings, Montana, and their children Brendan, Shannon and Quinlan; Timothy Quigley and Deborah McCann of Parker, Colorado and their children Marissa and Sean and grandson Micah; Tamara Kathleen and Gregory Thies of Vienna, Virginia, and their children Gregory Jr., Aidan and Breccan; Thomas Paul II and Trisha McCann of Parker, Colorado and their children Lisa, Dyanna, Michael, Hunter, Thomas III and Rylie and grandchildren Brian, Davian and Alayna; Sharon Louise 'Shari' and Dale Nelson, Jr. of Denver, Colorado and their children Meagan, David, Christopher, Kayla and Dale III; Patrick Theodore McCann of Denver, Colorado, and his son Teddy Jr.; Siobhan Maureen McCann of Denver, Colorado and her children Rachael, Robert, Ryan and Vincent and granddaughter Talia Rose; Michael Anthony McCann of Denver, Colorado and Janesville, Wisconsin, and his daughter Caitlin; and Florian Bernard II and Dawn McCann of Lakewood, Colorado and their children Peyton, Florian III, Macson and Logan. Sharon is also survived by Thomas P. McCann of Denver, Colorado and her sister, Carla Woodie, of Wichita, Kansas. There will be a rosary at the Horan McConity funeral home at Colorado Boulevard and Mississippi in Denver, which is in charge of arrangements, on Wednesday evening, January 10, 2007 at 6:30. The funeral mass will be said at the Most Precious Blood Catholic Church at 10:30 in the morning on Thursday morning, January 11, 2007 with burial at Mount Olivet Cemetery immediately following.