Elizabeth "Libby" McSheehy

Elizabeth "Libby" Radel McSheehy returned to her Heavenly Father on November 13, 2024. Her beloved husband Wayne passed away just two years prior; they both were 90 years young.
The Funeral will be held at 11AM Sat. November 16th at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 339 Lake Dr., Fort Walton Bch, FL.
Elizabeth Libby Radel McSheehy was born on April 5, 1934, to Ellen Romberger and Fred Radel in Valley View, PA. The birthing room was in the Victorian mansion which her grandfather Romberger built in the early 1900s. The community was a small Pennsylvania German one, known as "Pennsylvania Dutch," where everyone spoke "Dutch". She loved nature and her beloved grandparents' farm where she roamed and gathered assorted wildlife. Libby had a talent and a passion for dance, and began taking lessons when she was 12 years old, then played saxophone in her school band and later became a majorette. At concerts, she and her friend Carol would tap dance, baton twirl, and play the saxophone. Later she became a cheerleader for the basketball games.
From the time she was quite young, she was a natural teacher. She taught the younger children to dance, baton twirl and do cartwheels and headstands. An avid reader, she devoured books daily, wrote poems, and cheers for the cheerleader squad in high school, as well as funny poems for all occasions. Later on in life, Libby was also noted for the family newsletters she sent out at Christmas. She was a choreographer who enjoyed creating dances for the historical plays at school, for various singing groups, and for herself. When she attended college she had a mentor in her dance teacher Karen Kemple Roth, a former Vaudeville performer, who introduced her to modern dance.
Libby majored in Health Education and English at East Stroudsburg State College, PA. She choreographed the musical "Damn Yankees," played Lola in the college production, and was the assistant choreographer in the "Fred Waring and the Pennsylvanians" production of the musical "Brigadoon." After graduation, she married Robert Hartman and had a daughter Robyn. This union lasted two years.
Her first teaching assignment was in dance at Slippery Rock State College, where she taught folk, square, modern, ballroom and tap dance. After marrying Wayne McSheehy, also an educator, she moved to Fort Walton Beach, FL, where she began her elementary teaching career, her last years before retirement teaching 5th grade at Kenwood Elementary. She continued to choreograph school productions and entertain with her infamous Charleston and other comedy numbers. Libby often brought down the house with her Charleston routine in the talent shows on cruises. She entertained at benefits and theatre productions in Fort Walton, sang with the community chorus "The Note-A-Belles", and danced and sang with groups such as "The Gold Diggers" and "High Steppers."
Libby was also known for taking people into her home and helping others in keeping with her mother's and grandmother's traditions of seeking out the needy and serving them, often in secret. Her mother Ellen Radel was a nurse.
Her children all made her very proud with their accomplishments and their dedication to their Church, and their compassion for others. Two sons and 2 grandchildren served 2-year missions. Her grandchildren were her great love and she enjoyed every minute with them. She held several callings in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints but served mainly in public affairs. She and Wayne served 3 missions, 2 handcart missions in Wyoming, and a 7-year church education system in the Fort Walton Beach Stake. She and her beloved husband Wayne enjoyed traveling together in their RV and going on cruises.
She is survived by her children Robyn, Kevin, Sean, and Kelly, and her daughter in spirit Andrea and her daughter Danielle; Grandchildren Tyler, Taylor, Eugene, Brooke, Noah, Isabella, Skyler, and Wayne; and great-granddaughter Ellie.
Libby would want you to celebrate her life. She knows that we will someday meet again.
In lieu of flowers, you may donate to SpaceTeam.com/foundation, a STEM outreach for teachers, students, and community, a foundation created in the name of our parents, Libby and Wayne McSheehy. To view a film made for Libby by her family, a true story about her act of kindness that changed a lonely young student's life: SpaceTeam.com/gift