Harry C. Sheehy Jr.

Harry C. Sheehy, Jr. 1929 - 2009 WILLIAMSTOWN Harry C. Sheehy, Jr., 80, of 352 North Hoosac Road died July 2, 2009, at home after a long battle with Parkinson's Disease. Son of Harry C. Sheehy, Sr. and Sarah Storms Sheehy, he was born in Brooklyn, N.Y., on Jan. 31, 1929. The family moved to Garden City, N.Y., where he attended local schools, graduating in 1947 from St. Paul's. He fell in love with the Berkshires during summers with his family in Great Barrington on what is now the Madden Memorial Farm property. He graduated from Williams College in 1951 where he captained both the basketball and baseball teams his senior year and earned All New England honors in basketball. After graduation, he taught and coached at the Berkshire School for one year before entering business in New York City. He began his career on the American Stock Exchange, becoming a partner with R.S. Dixon, Powell, and Kistler in 1955. Always a loyal and colorful fan of Williams College athletics, he returned to Williamstown in 1972 as the proprietor of Discoveries, a Spring Street record business. He enjoyed following his son's basketball playing and coaching careers at Williams.Together they logged many miles on the scouting and recruiting trails. Through his older daughter and son-in-law in New Orleans, he also became a fan of Louisiana college sports. He played the piano by ear; a musical gift passed along to his younger daughter, and could often be heard in jazz clubs in New York and later at the Williams Alumni Center after football games. After permanently relocating to the Berkshires, he ran several small businesses, served as a bodyguard to Reza Pahlavi while the former Crown Prince of Iran attended Williams, and worked for three years in Campus Safety at Simon's Rock. Before retiring for health reasons, he worked as an insurance appraiser, traveling anywhere within a day's drive and feeling, he always said, "free as a bird." He leaves his wife of 34 years, Florence Sheehy, whose devoted care allowed him to remain at home these past few years; his brother, Jack Sheehy of New York City; his son, Harry C. Sheehy III and daughter-in-law, Constance Durrell Sheehy of Williamstown; his daughter, Sarah Sheehy Steele and son-in-law, Robert Steele of New Orleans, La.; his daughter, Lorraine Sheehy Love and son-in-law, Ronald Love of Monterey, and grandsons, Robert and Daniel Love. MEMORIAL NOTICE: A Memorial Service is planned for later this fall. The FLYNN & DAGNOLI-MONTAGNA HOME FOR FUNERALS WEST CHAPELS are in charge of the arrangements.s