Obituary — Fr. Yvon Sheehy, SCJ

Fr. Yvon Sheehy, SCJ, died on February 1, at Sacred Heart Monastery in suburban Milwaukee, WI. He was a member of the Priests of the Sacred Heart (Dehonians).

Originally from Newport, Vermont, Fr. Yvon, 74, grew up in a French-Canadian family near the Canadian border. French was his first language. He professed his first vows with the Dehonians 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 Seminary and School of Theology.

Funeral arrangements are at St. Martin of Tours parish in Franklin, WI, on Saturday, February 8. The viewing of the body will begin at 8:00 a.m. and the Mass of Christian Burial will be at 11:00 a.m.