Sheehan, Agnes Albena

• Sister Agnes Sheehan, SOS

Born 19 February 1914 in Brandon, Manitoba, daughter of Timothy Sheehan and Leah Page; entered 21 January 1940; first vows 15 August 1942; final vows 15 August 1947; died 26 February 2014.

Born in Brandon and baptized in the Redemptorist parish of St. Augustine of Canterbury, Agnes grew up in that southern Manitoba town and the Saskatchewan communities of Saskatoon, Ridgedale and Punnichy, where her father was the station master. She attended local schools, predominately in Ridgedale, a community she described as anti-Catholic, remembering vividly the burning of a flaming cross by the Ku Klux Klan. To ensure safety for travelling religious, the Sheehans provided accommodation. In 1938, Agnes recalled an overnight stay of Sister Catherine Donnelly.

On a catechetical tour, Sister Clara Graf was the next Sister of Service to stay with the Sheehans. Sister Graf asked Agnes, the church organist, to teach the children hymns. This connection with the sisters prompted in Agnes entering the Sisters of Service on January 21, 1940 a few weeks before her 26th birthday. In the second year of novitiate, she was assigned to the Toronto residence (1941-1948) and professed first vows on August 15, 1942. She was the first Sister of Service to graduate from St. Michael's Choir School, Toronto, in 1952.

She was next appointed to the Montreal residence (1948-1955, superior 1949-1955). Sister Sheehan attended the Maritime School of Social Work in Halifax (1955-1957), becoming the first member to graduate as a social worker. For the next 15 years in the Winnipeg residence, Sister Sheehan served in many posts, including superior (1957-1960), directing the addition of the residence, the residence's staff social worker (1960-1968) and social worker at a Child Guidance Clinic (1968-1973).

Her contribution in Winnipeg was recognized in 1966 with the awarding of the Bene Merenti Medalion on the occasion of the 50th jubilee of the Archdiocese of Winnipeg. At that time, she worked with the Recreation Division of the Social Planning Council, the umbrella for all the social agencies, including the Sisters of Service residence. When the residence was closed in 1972, it was leased to the Manitoba Housing and Renewal Corporation for five years at $1 a year. The YWCA undertook the operation of Hargrave House as a YWCA-SOS joint project with Sister Sheehan as the director.

When the project ended, she joined the Marriage Tribunal of the Archdiocese of Winnipeg (1979-1983) and the Marriage Tribunal of the Archdiocese of Toronto (1984-1997) when she returned to that city. In Toronto, Sister Sheehan lived in the Broadview Avenue house and in an apartment on Degrassi Avenue before moving into the Motherhouse, where she served as the book-keeper and singer. When the Motherhouse was renovated, she moved to Scarborough Court as the co-ordinator of the retired community (1999-2005) and at LaSalle Manor (2005-2009).

She died five days after her 100th birthday at La Salle Manor. , Fr. Rocky Guimond, OMI, also her spiritual director, celebrated her funeral mass. She is buried in the community plot at Mount Hope cemetery.

Created by F Rousselle May 1, 2025.

Biographical sketch adapted for brevity from complete biography written by SOS congregational archivist MC Havey.