Joan Sheehan

On July 12, 2025, Joan Sheehan, of Hancock, Maine, passed away. She was a wife, mother, grandmother, teacher and friend.

Joan was born in Springfield, Massachusetts on February 23, 1934, to James and Florence (Healey) Gorman. She received Bachelor and Master degrees in English and Education from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. She loved all aspects of her distinguished career as an educator, from her first position as a teacher at Avon High School in Avon, Connecticut to her years as the principal of Mittineague Elementary School in West Springfield, Massachusetts, to her volunteer work teaching ESL in Ellsworth, Maine.

Joan married the love of her life, Jospeh Edward Sheehan, on October 18, 1962, and they raised two daughters, Kathleen and Linda. For 59 years, Joe and Joan supported each other through all the challenges that life brings. In their final years together, they liked to joke that despite their individual ailments, together they made one complete person!

More than most, Joan understood the power of friendship. With her cheerful demeanor and compassionate heart, she easily connected with people and made them feel valued. She happily put in the effort to maintain those connections despite time and distance. Joan never lost the joy of chatting on the phone with, and writing notes to, the many friends she kept close to her heart.

Joan was a proud New Englander who cherished the poems of Robert Frost and Emily Dickenson. Born in Massachusetts, she left her heart in Maine, specifically at the home she and Joe built on Jellison Cove in Hancock in 1972. She loved the original rustic cottage where her family happily spent summer vacations, as well as the finished home where she and Joe retired. Joan appreciated the beauty and serenity of the Maine coast and the sincerity and steadfastness of the Maine people.

Joan was predeceased by her husband, Joe. She is survived by her daughters, Kathleen Sheehan and Linda Sheehan; her son-in-law, Michael Davidson; her former son-in-law, Peter Lauria; her grandchildren, Caroline and Andrew Lauria-Sheehan; her brother, Jimmy Gorman; sisters-in-law Carol Gorman and Elizabeth Sheehan Rae.

There will be a celebration of life at the house in Hancock the afternoon of Saturday, September 13, 2025. All Joan's friends are welcome. Gifts in Joan's memory can be made to her favorite charity, the Maine Seacoast Mission, PO Box 428 Cherryfield, ME 04622 https://seacoastmission.org