Eleanor Estelle Sheehan Deming
August 9, 1917 - December 15, 2017
Obituary
ELEANOR ESTELLE SHEEHAN DEMING
August 9, 1917 – December 15, 2017
Eleanor Estelle Sheehan Deming was born in Seattle to Isabelle Henry and Thomas Vincent Sheehan, early Irish Catholic settlers in Seattle. She followed her parents’ footsteps in serving Seattle through many organizations, including the Association for Catholic Childhood, the Junior League of Seattle, and guilds of both the Arboretum and Children’s Hospital. She was a volunteer for the March of Dimes and the Penny Drive, and served as president of the Forest Ridge Alumnae Association.
Eleanor attended Forest Ridge School of the Sacred Heart, and graduated from Garfield High School where she was active in the “Funfest” stage productions. She graduated from the University of Washington, where she was a member of the Kappa Alpha Theta Sorority.
Eleanor was an avid reader, bridge and tennis player. She enjoyed travel, and had remarkable stories of a trip to Europe in the summer of 1939. Later, she particularly enjoyed winter travel to San Diego. Eleanor enjoyed 90 years of membership in the Seattle Tennis Club, and was also a member of the Sunset Club. She was a friend to many and always greeted her family and friends with a gracious and enthusiastic welcome. As a lifelong resident of Seattle, she followed the dramatic changes in her city with interest throughout her long life.
Eleanor was preceded in death by her parents, her sister Mary Isabel Bone and her brother, Thomas H. Sheehan, both of Seattle; by her children Diana Deming Hale and John Dexter Deming, of Seattle, and her son Robert L. Deming of Carson City, NV; by her grandson, Andrew Deming Hale, of St. Louis, MO and by her former husband, David Deming. She is survived by her granddaughter, Regan L. Deming of New York City, by her great-granddaughters Lily and Kate Hale of St. Louis MO, and by a niece, nephews, cousins and friends.
A funeral Mass will be said at St. Joseph’s Church (732 18th Ave East) on Saturday, January 13th at 10:00 am. Burial at Calvary Cemetery will follow. Memorials made to Seattle Children’s Hospital or a charity of the donors choice.
The family wishes to thank the excellent caregivers who were so helpful to all of us in Eleanor’s last years.