On April 27, 1930, Jean Terese Boigegrain was born in Chicago, the first of two children of Charles and Josephine. She lived through the end of the Great Depression and viewed World War II through the eyes of a child. She was living a carefree childhood, riding the streetcars of Chicago to the beach with her best friend, cousin Ree-Ree, when her dad announced a job transfer to Detroit. Although broken-hearted at first, Jean quickly adjusted to St. Theresa School, making lifelong friends and singing in all of the musicals.

Jean met Bill Shea at the wedding of mutual friends and immediately took a shine to him. Jean was a graduate of Marygrove College and became a grade school art teacher. Bill, a civil engineering graduate from the University of Detroit, also had a creative mind and excelled at writing. The two took to each other immediately and became an item. Bill's two-year deployment to Korea delayed their wedding plans, but joy reigned supreme on July 2, 1955, when they tied the knot at Gesu Church.

Soon, Barbara, Martha, Carol, Julie, Joe, Paul, and last but never least, Liz, kept Jean's selfless hands occupied for many hours as she became an expert in being a mother. Jean used to say that there was no work more creative than raising babies. The Shea kids were the luckiest because their mom was gentle, soft-spoken, thoroughly dedicated to them, unswerving in principles and values, smart as a whip, and a loyal wife to their dad.

Jean had a sharp intellect and a creative streak and enjoyed singing in the choir at church, appreciating art, reading about the Church and the world, socializing with her knitting group, playing cards with friends, and traveling with Bill. She was never so content as when solving the New York Times Crossword puzzle, editing her kids' college research papers, or auditing college French classes taught by Carol. When the kids were grown, she followed her heart back to the classroom as first grade teacher at Holy Innocents Academy. In her sixties, she decided to learn a new language—Spanish—when Liz married Tolo. Summers at the Lake Huron cottage in Oscoda were the stuff dreams were made of for this family of nine.

Mom was always there for everyone, including the grandkids: Chris; Anthony and Tim; Marielle and Joey; Ben, Matt, and Amanda; Fiona, Connor, and Emma; Michael, William, Johnny, and Mark Paul; the sons- and daughters-in-law: Jack Keck, Nestor Halicki, Paul Kulling, Marc Mastropaolo, John Ogren, Brigit Brennan, Meagan Atkinson, and Tolo Vallespir. She was all-family, all the time. Gramma's dining room table saw countless family dinners at Bill and Jean's Beverly Hills home, with an all-are-welcome policy that her kids and grandkids enjoyed. And when the great-grands came, what joy! Koa and Sage, Camden and Kayla, Stetson and Callaghan, and Valerie—and two girl angels she did not meet who will show their shining faces this August 2026—were the lights of her existence.

Jean took care of Bill until he succumbed to Parkinson's disease at age 75. Later, Jean married Bill's longtime best friend, the delightful Nick DeBeliso. She moved to California, where she spent six happy years amidst Nick's family, and traveled back and forth until coming home to Michigan after Nick's death. She enjoyed her family, her years with the Finnish American Singers, her bi-weekly pool exercises, and her Bible study classes, all the while bestowing countless blessings on those in her path.

Jean suffered a stroke in 2019, and if it diminished her capacity for independence, it never lessened her determination. Through pure grit, she learned to walk again and write with her left hand. She regularly amazed her unparalleled caregivers, Mary and Paige, with her tenacity and results, her self-discipline and measured calm; she was a fighter, and she did not give up. Not even at the end.

Jean died peacefully at the age of 96 at Carol and Paul's loving home where she had lived for seven years. She joined her beloved Blessed Mother, St. Therese the Little Flower, St. Anthony and St. Joseph, as well as her husband Bill and her brother Chuck, along with many more friends and relatives. It was the end of a legend, but the start of a legacy which lives on in the hearts of her loved ones.

Visitation will be held Thursday, June 18, from 3:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m., with a Rosary service at 7:00 p.m., at Heeney-Sundquist Funeral Home, 23720 Farmington Road, Farmington, Michigan.

Jean's Funeral Mass will be celebrated Friday, June 19, at 11:00 a.m. at St. Gerald Catholic Church, 21300 Farmington Road, Farmington, Michigan. She will lie in state at the church beginning at 10:30 a.m.

Donations may be directed to the Capuchin Soup Kitchen.

Please keep Jean and her family in your thoughts and prayers during this difficult time.

"Where there's life, there's hope."
– Jean Shea, April 27, 1930 – June 11, 2026