Nurse chosen for Elgin service award
Submitted by Elgin Cosmopolitan Club
Mary Jo Sheehy has been chosen as the recipient of the 70th Elgin Cosmopolitan Club Distinguished Service Award based on outstanding contributions to the community. A dinner will be held in her honor on Tuesday, May 22, at the Elgin Country Club, off Weld Road in Elgin.
Sheehy, a longtime resident of Elgin, is a registered nurse and has been an active participant in the community as a member serving on various boards and committees. Her husband is Dr. William Sheehy, and they have four sons, one daughter and 12 grandchildren.
She has devoted many hours serving the community. In her 15 years of volunteering for Fox Valley Volunteer Hospice, she has served as board president and vice president, and worked as a counselor for 15 years at the “Grief Takes A Hike” weekend camp for children who have lost a parent. She also has served as a patient care volunteer who counsels cancer patients and their families in their homes, and participated in “Hands of Hope,” sitting with patients receiving treatments at Provena St. Joseph Hospital’s Cancer Center twice a month. She also has been chairwoman of the Garden Party luncheon fundraiser.
Sheehy is a 36-year volunteer at Sherman Hospital. She volunteers in the Surgical Family Waiting Area sitting with families who have relatives or friends that are undergoing surgery. She also acts as a liaison between doctor/surgeon and family. In addition to volunteering in the auxiliary’s gift and coffee shops, she has served as ball chairwoman and scholarship chairwoman.
Sheehy is an active member of St. Thomas More Church in Elgin. She served as an American Cancer Society board member from 1997-2002. She is a member of the Kane County Medical Society Auxiliary, Provena St. Joseph Hospital human investigation committee, Elgin Junior Service Board, Elgin Garden Club, and P.E.O. Sisterhood. She served as a corporate sponsor chairwoman for the annual Elgin YWCA Leader Luncheon, has volunteered at the Jayne Shover Easter Seals Telethon, and served as Fideliters Club fundraising committee chair from 1980-1990.
The Elgin Cosmopolitan Club is a nonprofit organization serving the Elgin area for over 75 years and is dedicated to community well-being through charitable donations and volunteer service with an emphasis on preventing diabetes.
For information on this event or the Elgin Cosmopolitan Club, contact Cecelia Silber at (847) 841-7901 or csilber@ihcconstruction.com.