Nancy Jill Sheedy

Mrs. Nancy Jill Sheedy, 73, of Urbana died on Friday, April 6, 2007 at her residence in the company of her family and beloved pets.

Born on December 25, 1933, in South Bend, IN, she was the daughter of the late Glenn L. and Clovia Wall Phares. Nancy attended high school in both Fond du Lac, WI and Altoona, PA, graduating in 1951. She attained a BA degree in psychology from Michigan State University in 1956 and a Masters degree in counseling from the University of Maryland in 1972. In 1956 Nancy married Daniel Patrick Sheedy in East Lansing, MI. They moved to the Washington area with two young children in 1962, and then traveled to the Phillipines, where their third child was born in 1964. Afterward they lived for several years in Rockville, MD then 3 years in Okinawa before finally settling in Urbana, MD in 1974. Nancy and Dan celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary on October 27, 2006.

Nancy had a lifelong passion for dogs and other four-legged creatures. Pets were a constant part of family life. In the latter half of her life, she devoted much of her time to training, breeding and showing dogs. In the 1970's she established Lochnan Kennels, raising and breeding Shetland Sheepdogs. She was a founding member of Catoctin Kennel Club, teaching obedience classes for the club for several years before leaving to focus on her own dog training business, Right Start Training. Nancy was a passionate advocate of positive training methods and specialized in teaching puppy kindergarten classes. Nancy was also an avid reader and aspiring writer. After retiring from training and breeding dogs in 2002, she renewed her interest in writing and became involved with several on-line writing groups. She wrote several short stories and spent much of the past year on the first draft of a mystery novel.

Surviving in addition to her husband are 3 children, Kathleen Sheedy and partner Diane Rosen of Silver Spring, Joseph Sheedy and wife Yvonne of Hedgesville, WV and Stephen Sheedy and wife Marilyn of Keedysville; 5 grandchildren, Michael, Sara, Jon Chris and Patrick Sheedy; a sister, Sally Mitchell of Las Vegas. Mrs Sheedy was preceded in death by a brother, Wayne Phares.

Visitation: The family will receive friends from 9:00 AM til 12 Noon on Thursday, April 12, at Stauffer Funeral Home, 1621 Opossumtown Pike, Frederick.

Services: Funeral services and interment will be private.

In lieu of flowers memorial contributions may be made to Hospice of Frederick County, P.O. Box 1799, Frederick, MD 21702.