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William J. "Jake" Sheehy
William J. "Jake" Sheehy
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William Sheehy Obituary
Born to William J. Sheehy III and Betty Harrison in Austin, Texas, Jake went on to graduate magna cum laude from Michigan State University, as well as earn his juris doctor from the University of Michigan Law School and New York University. During his distinguished career, Jake maintained a private legal practice in addition to teaching business, tax, and accounting at the university level. He also served as an associate dean in the College of Management at Lawrence Technological University for several years and was a member of the Bar Association of the District of Columbia and State Bar of Michigan.
Jake was a lieutenant colonel in the United States Air Force, where he piloted fighter jets including the F-105, F-4, F-102, F-15 and F-16. He served multiple tours in Vietnam and continued to serve in the Air Force Reserve.
Jake is survived by his loving wife of 39 years, Barbara, and his daughters, Jennifer (Steve) and Eileen. He will be remembered by many friends and family for his unique character, enthralling stories, and his love for all things chocolate.
A memorial mass service is being planned for 11:00 a.m. on Friday, December 2, at Our Lady of Victory Catholic Church in Northville, Michigan, with a lunch to follow. In lieu of flowers, contributions in Jake's name can be made to the Vietnam Veterans of America at https://vva.org/donate/.
To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.
Jim Prokes
November 27, 2024
I had Jake as a professor at Lawrence Tech in 1985//1986. I was young, 20 years old in his tax class. I would literally belly laugh out load at his stories during class, he was so funny. When I went into business for myself he did my early legal work. Lou said it perfect, God will be kind to him. My sincerest condolences to his family. I am late because I was trying to call him to have lunch and my info was outdated so I started googling to find him. Very sad when I realized he had passed away.
Marie R. Lafkiotes
March 28, 2023
I had Dr. Sheehy as a professor at Lawerence Institute of Technology. I also hired him to write a will and set up a trust fund for my brother after my fathers death. Condolences to his family members. May he rest in peace!
Lou Petro
November 28, 2022
I have known Jake since the 70's at Plante & Moran. We spent over 12 years together at LTU (Early 80's to 1992). We had been in regular contact since then. We shared many stories of our Air Force days. He will be sorely missed. God will be kind to him.
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Bob Bailey
November 28, 2022
Jake and I met back in the 1980's and became immediate friends. I remember long discussions of cars, guitars, and old military radio sets. He was a good friend, a wise mentor, generous and kind. I will miss his wit and spirit.
Larry Mumford
November 25, 2022
When I heard about Jake, I am sure my reaction was the same as
everyone else that knew and loved him. A deep sense of loss and
the sure knowledge that we had just lost one of the good ones. I
have known Jake for going on fifty years and as I thought back
over those years I came to realize all of the superlative adjectives
that could be used to describe Jake. To many for a short personal eulogy such as this, so I went in the other direction. If I only had one word to describe Jake, what would it be? Jake Sheehy is a man of honor. You probably noticed that I used the
present tense instead of the past tense in the previous sentence.
That is because honor does not stop with a man's death, but goes on forever. Everything Jake did in life, Husband, Father, fighter pilot, university professor, attorney, human being were
all accomplished with honor. Goodbye Jake. I will miss you.
Bill Volz
November 24, 2022
`Jake was a steadfast friend and a wonderful storyteller. Then, he had lived a life created stories. A superior student (MSU honors, UofM Law, NYU), he had an academic life as a Dean; a gifted pilot, his spellbinding tales of missions over North Vietnam left his listeners agog; a skilled attorney, he guided a broad array of clients through the legal bureaucracy; and a loving father, his daughters are the crowning achievement of his and Barbara´s long life together.
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