Fr. Yvon Sheehy, SCJ, died on February 1, at Sacred Heart Monastery.
A Vermont native, Fr. Yvon, 74, grew up in a French-Canadian family near the Canadian border. French was his first language. He professed his first vows in 1969 and was ordained to the priesthood in 1978.
Fr. Yvon spent many years in South Dakota ministering on the Cheyenne River, Lower Brule and Crow Creek Reservations. He is credited with being the architect of the team ministry approach that continues to be used on the reservations. Visitors to South Dakota may remember his frequent line: “And all this could be yours” as he waved his hand towards the South Dakota prairie, encouraging other religious to join him in ministry at the birthplace of the US Province.
In 2001, Fr. Yvon was elected to the Provincial Council; he served as vice-provincial from 2001-2010. When elected to his first three-year term, he was also named Province Vocation Director. He continued as director until 2007, when he was named pastor of St. Martin of Tours parish in Franklin, WI; he was pastor for 10 years.
Since 2017, Fr. Yvon has been the Residential Director of the ECS (formerly “ESL”) program at Sacred Heart Monastery. Reflecting on those years, Dr. Paul Monson, Vice President of Intellectual Formation & Academic Dean at Sacred Heart Seminary and School of Theology, wrote to staff and students: “In our community, many of us knew Fr. Yvon as the Residential ECS Program Coordinator. His countless, selfless hours have been the backbone of our English and Culture Studies program through the years. He shared American culture with our ECS students at every turn, from sublime art on the lakefront to a banal run to Walgreens. Every ECS student knew him, and throughout the world there are many ECS alumni who remember him with love. Only a year ago in Brazil, I would occasionally meet someone only to hear, ‘Oh, Hales Corners? How is Fr. Yvon?’ Three years ago, I learned firsthand how much his memory is revered in South Dakota, from parishes in Lower Brule and Crow Creek to three elderly nuns in Marty.”
Funeral arrangements for Fr. Yvon:
The Mass of Christian Burial for Fr. Yvon will be at St. Martin of Tours parish on Saturday, February 8.
Schedule:
Wake: 8:00 – 10:00 a.m.
Eulogies: 10:00 – 10:45 a.m.
Mass: 11:00 a.m.
Interment will be in the province mausoleum after the Mass. Lunch will be available at the SHSST dining room. St. Martin of Tours is located at 7963 S. 116th St., Franklin, WI
