Elizabeth Sheehy, at 75; nurse dedicated to burn victims
Elizabeth M. Sheehy was a nurse who specialized in the treatment of burn victims, and it was no 9-to-5 job. Often when she was in Boston for a night at the theater, she would slip away to check on her charges at Massachusetts General Hospital or Shriners Burns Institute.
"She was the female equivalent of a perfect gentleman," said Dr. Roman DeSanctis, a cardiologist at Massachusetts General Hospital. "She was never ruffled or upset and was a wonderful advocate for her patients."
Mrs. Sheehy, 75, of Cohasset, who lectured widely on burns care and had a scholarship named in her honor by the American Burn Association, died of cerebral amyloid angiopathy April 4 in Beaumont Rehabilitation and Skilled Nursing Center in Westborough.
"She was an internationally recognized expert in nursing and burn care," DeSanctis said.
Elizabeth (Doyle) Sheehy was raised in Weymouth. "She got a full scholarship to medical school at Duke University, but her father didn't believe women should become doctors," said her husband, Daniel.
She graduated from the School of Nursing at MGH and earned a master's degree in education at Antioch College.
Her husband, who was a member of the merchant marine before becoming an insurance executive, circled the world 6 1/2 times, mainly while serving on oil tankers, while wooing her from a distance.
"I would send her roses, and she would send me back a picture of her holding them with her dog Sparky at her side," he said.
He remembered telephoning her one morning from Singapore, to share the music of a jazz band he was enjoying at the Raffles Hotel. "It was 3 a.m., and I called her at Walcott House at Mass. General. At first, they were reluctant to put her on the phone, but I told them it was important. I held up the phone and let her listen."
Her office was always open to her patients. Her husband recalled a young girl who often visited her there. "She had climbed on a gas stove, and her nightgown caught on fire, and she lost all the fingers on one hand. Every time Betsy heard her coming she would break the points on all the pencils and ask her to sharpen them."
He said the child would hold the pencils in the hand without fingers and crank the sharpener with the other. It made her feel useful, he said.
Mrs. Sheehy worked long hours, often leaving home at 5 a.m. and not returning until 8 p.m. But she loved to entertain, so her husband learned how to cook. "I'd make beef bourguignon or another exotic dish, and all she'd have to do is make a salad and sit down," he said.
"She had her hands full working and raising three children," said her son, Daniel Jr., also of Cohasset, "but she made it seem effortless and was always smiling."
She represented the International Society for Burn Injuries on a visit to the
Mrs. Sheehy was nurse administrative officer in the department of nursing at MGH from 1976 to 1983 and helped in the planning and design of the new Massachusetts General Hospital Burn Unit.
For several years prior to her retirement about 10 years ago, she was administrator of Phillips House at MGH, where her husband said her patients included Katharine Hepburn and John Wayne.
"The nurses, doctors, and patients loved her," DeSanctis said. "She had to leave us way too soon. "
In addition to her husband and son, she leaves another son, Timothy of Marblehead; a daughter, Elisabeth Allen of Westborough; and three grandchildren.
A memorial service will be held at 10 a.m. today in Glastonbury Abbey in Hingham. In accordance with her wishes, her remains were cremated. After her husband dies, their ashes will be taken in a tugboat from Massachusetts Maritime Academy, Daniel Sheehy's alma mater, and be scattered at sea.
