Farewell Megan from the community you inspired

A celebration of Megan’s life and spirit will be held on Saturday, August 23rd at 2pm at Old North Church, 35 Washington Street in Marblehead. Eustis and Cornell are making the arrangements.

Megan Marjorie Sheehy, 14, of Marblehead passed away peacefully at home on August 9th after her yearlong challenge of osteosarcoma. The beloved only child of Jean and Tim Sheehy, she was born August 7, 2000 in Beverly. She will always be loved by her grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins, who brought her great joy.

Megan attended Marblehead Community Charter School. With tremendous support from the staff, she achieved her goal of successfully completing 7th grade despite the time lost to the aggressive course of chemotherapy and multiple surgeries. She was a voracious reader, delighting and surprising her teachers with the length and breadth of her annual summer reading list.

She had a passion for the drama program, and became her roles in the school plays; including the roles of Ida in “Honk” and The Jester in “Once Upon a Mattress”. Megan was active in Charter’s music program, where she sang and played oboe. She helped organize and performed at this year’s “Rock For Meg” fundraiser. With unprecedented community support, a tremendous amount was raised for Angels Above, a charity making pediatric patient’s stays at Mass General more pleasant.

Megan began her love of performing music at her spiritual home, Old North Church, in the excellent Cecelia Choir and then the Parish Singers. She was thrilled to be part of the Youth Festival Chorus at Christmas. With several of her peers from Old North, she successfully auditioned for and performed with the National Children’s Honor Choir in Chicago in 2011.

Megan’s passion for equestrian eventing began when she was 5. She learned about the responsibility of caring for her pony, and achieved high levels of success in stadium jumping, dressage, and cross-country. In addition to numerous blue ribbons, she was awarded the prestigious Boxford Trails Association’s Horsemanship/Sportsmanship perpetual trophy in 2011. Even after losing her leg, Megan continued to ride her beloved Missy B. Megan’s love for travel, sailing and swimming took her on adventures to many ports from Maine to Belize.

Megan inspired the community through her grace and strength in the face of incredible adversity, and impressed her caretakers as mature and extraordinarily articulate. She was loving, grateful, and always hopeful. The incredible profusion of blue ribbons throughout town and around the world is a testament to her spirit, and to the generous and compassionate spirit of her community. Before her illness, Megan developed a passion for volleyball. In lieu of flowers, please consider honoring Megan with a donation to the LoveStrong Volleyball Scholarship at National Grand Bank in Marblehead.

A joint message from the Eustis and Cornell Funeral Home and the Marblehead Police.

This Saturday at 2pm, a public Celebration of Life will be held for Megan Sheehy at the Old North Church – 35 Washington Street. Given how many people Megan has touched, the gathering is expected to be well attended. Although the service begins at 2pm, guests will no doubt arrive early. The service is expected to last slightly more than an hour. In anticipation, the following parking areas are available.

The Old North Church Parking lot located at 8 Stacey Street. The entrance to the Stacey Street lot is from Washington St and the exit is onto Franklin Street.

The Quillen family, owners of Bartlett’s Garage at 1 Stacey Street, have made their parking area available to all who need it. This lot is to the rear of the auto body garage.

The Marblehead School Department has made parking available at the Gerry Elementary School located at 50 Elm Street. Cars will be allowed to park in the lower playground on the Elm Street side of the building and in the school owned lot on Mechanic Square.

The Philanthropic Lodge of Masons located at 62 Pleasant Street has made their side and lower parking lots open to those going to the church.

The Marblehead Community Charter Public School has also made their parking lot located at 17 Lime Street available with overflow parking at 200 Hoods Lane which is slightly behind the school.

And finally, the Eustis and Cornell Funeral home parking lot located at 142 Elm Street is also available and open for use.

Anyone who lives close enough, is encouraged to walk as parking will be at a premium in that area of town. Extra police officers will be on hand to assist.