Sheila O'Connor

Sheila Mabel MacLurg O'Connor, beloved mother, grandmother, therapist, thespian, gardener, voracious reader, and dearest friend to many, died peacefully of natural causes on Tuesday February 11, 2025, in Los Angeles, California.

Born in the Seattle farm town of Issaquah on March 19, 1932, Sheila's life was a testament to compassion, resilience, exploration, and a deep love for the arts, literature and social justice.

Sheila's early days took her from the ivory halls of the University of Washington to the beckoning lights of Manhattan, where she pursued her passion for singing and a world beyond the ordinary.

After marrying (to the renowned Hal Kant), and spending a brief stint in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Sheila returned West, settling finally in Pacific Palisades, CA, a beachside enclave of Los Angeles known for its vibrant intellectual scene. There she raised her three sons and embedded herself prominently in the local arts and theater community. Sheila's early political activism (which earned her the high-school moniker "Red Sheila") found fertile ground in the L.A. of the sixties. Sheila became a committed activist in support of the Civil Rights Movement and in protest of the Vietnam War. Sheila never shied away from standing up for the causes she believed in, and instilled in her sons the same values of integrity and social responsibility she held dear.

In her next chapter of life, Sheila found true love with her second husband, Timothy J. O'Connor, the famed and distinguished stage, screen and film actor; together they built an idyllic life in the Sierra foothills town of Nevada City. Sheila became a pillar of the local community, both as a professional and an artist. Sheila was a highly regarded marriage, family, and child counselor, offering guidance and compassion to all who sought her wisdom.

Tim and Sheila were the guiding lights of Nevada City's theater community. Tim acted in, directed and wrote dozens of productions featured on the town's main stages; Sheila collaborated on many of these productions as well as several of her own solo works. The impact they left on the town and its acting community will be part of their enduring legacy.

Sheila's award-winning botanical embroideries were one of her proudest accomplishments and embodied her love for nature and art. Her uniquely accomplished original designs adorn the homes of those lucky few to have been bestowed copies of her handiwork.

Sheila leaves behind three sons (Garth, Anthony and Jonas) and five grandchildren (Eva, Tess, Kai, Jasper, and Roman). She will rejoin Tim, who passed in 2018, and the long line of dogs who unwittingly bore tribute to Sheila's unabashed fondness for English Regency novels.

A celebration of her life will be held later this year with details to be announced online; In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to the American Brain Foundation (https://www.americanbrainfoundation.org)