John C. "Skeff" Sheehy

HELENA - John C. "Skeff" Sheehy, 99, lawyer, jurist, and family patriarch, died Friday, April 7, 2017, at his home in Helena.

Skeff was born Jan. 27, 1918, to Cornelius and Anna Sheehy in Butte, the first of seven children. Although he lived in other Montana towns for 80 years of his life, he believed, along with his brother Joe, that "if you're not in Butte, you're camping out." He was educated at Catholic schools in Butte, attended the Montana School of Mines (now Montana Tech) and then the University Of Montana School Of Law. He obtained his law degree in 1943, and went to work in Helena for insurance commissioner J. D. Holmes.

Skeff married Rita Ann Schiltz in 1945, and only death would part them. In 1947, they moved to Billings, Rita's hometown. Skeff began a 30-year law practice with his brother-in-law and great friend, Jack Schiltz. They tried all manner of cases and represented all sorts of clients. They also had a lot of fun. Schiltz and Sheehy were responsible for most of the skits, songs and frivolity at the Billings Bar meetings for decades. Over time, Schiltz and Sheehy joined others in the practice, including George Hutton, R. G. Wiggenhorn, and Brent Cromley. Skeff's professional accomplishments were recognized by the State Bar of Montana in 2005, with the Jameson Award, and by the Montana Trial Lawyers Association last summer with a lifetime achievement award.

Between 1959 and 1970, Skeff served in both houses of the state legislature. He was the first Democrat to break the "straight eight" Republican legislative block in Yellowstone County during those decades of county-wide ballots. In 1978, Gov. Tom Judge appointed Sheehy to the Montana Supreme Court. He was elected to his seat twice before retiring in 1991. Justice Sheehy was the author of the decision rejecting the challenge to Montana's coal severance tax. The United States Supreme Court upheld his decision.

A devoted Catholic, Dad attended Mass every morning and said the rosary every night. His faith guided him through the Great Depression, a near-fatal car wreck in 1936, Montana politics in the 60s and 70s, an armed assailant in 1984, the death of his beloved Rita in 2012, and everything in between.

Skeff and Rita raised eleven children long before "parent" was a verb. In those days without cell phones and texts, Dad communicated with full voice, songs, prayer, jokes, and sometimes long silences. He imparted much wisdom, ranging from "Trust everyone, but cut the cards," to "you'd starve to death with a ham on your back." He rarely said good-bye, preferring "tap 'er light" or "don't go with the old feeling."

Engagement was Dad's distinguishing characteristic. His children's greatest fan, he drove all over Montana to their events. Though he liked to quote J.D. Holmes that "Human beings are a lousy arrangement," he loved human arrangements: parades, games, weddings, and funerals. In the last years of his life, he and Rita and assorted family and friends ate dinner at the Motherlode every Tuesday, and Fridays were reserved for lunch at Benny's Bistro. He liked the bustle of people. At home, he read and watched the news every day and night; he did the crossword and sudoku; and he didn't often miss Jeopardy. He was engaged in the world to his last day on earth.

Sheehy was preceded in death by his wife Rita; brothers Tom, Edmund, Joseph, and Jim Sheehy; by his sister Margaret, known as Sister Serena Sheehy, Salt Lake City; and by his granddaughter Rita Mary.

He is survived by his 11 children, Anne (Peter) Yegen of Park City, Tom Sheehy of Helena; Mary (Duane) Moe of Great Falls, Patrick (Debbie) Sheehy of Billings, Kate (Dirk) Whitney of Helena, Eileen Sheehy (Bob Maxson) of Billings, Rosalie (David) Cates of Missoula, Margaret Sheehy (Ralph Johnson) of Albany, New York, Jenifer Sheehy of Billings, Martha Sheehy (Sid Thomas) of Billings and John Sheehy (Jill Golden) of Marlboro, Vermont. His lone surviving sibling, Sister Eileen Sheehy, Salt Lake City, lives in Grand Junction, Colorado. He is also survived by 19 grandchildren, nine great-grandchildren, and many treasured nieces and nephews, their spouses and their children.

Viewing will be from 4-7 p.m., with the Rosary to be prayed at 7 p.m., followed by a time for sharing of memories on Tuesday, April 11, at Anderson Stevenson Wilke Funeral Home, 3750 N. Montana Ave. A funeral Mass will be celebrated at 10 a.m., on Wednesday, April 12, at the Cathedral of St. Helena, 530 N. Ewing St. Burial will immediately follow the Mass at Resurrection Cemetery. A reception will follow the burial in the Brondel Center located in the lower level of the Cathedral. Please visit www.aswfuneralhome.com to offer a condolence to the family or to share a memory of Skeff.