Marjorie Eila Shea

***UPDATED SERVICE DETAILS BELOW***

Houghton --- Marjorie Eila Shea of 9876 Luckey Drive passed away on Sunday, January 9, 2022.  She was born on March 5, 1944 in Warsaw, the second child of the late Alton James Shea and Aileen Ortlip Shea.  She led a life dedicated to beauty and service in West Africa and in the USA as a nurse, a teacher, and an artist.

Eila graduated from Wellsville High School in 1962, attended Houghton College for two years and graduated with a B.S. Nursing from Columbia University School of Medicine in 1967. She also took evening classes at the Art Students League in NYC. She spent the 1970s working as a nurse in Sierra Leone, West Africa.  Returning to the USA primarily for health reasons, from 1982-1987 she worked part-time as a nurse while completing a second degree—a B.A. in Art from Houghton College. One semester was spent at Indiana Wesleyan University studying under notable nature watercolorist, Rod Crossman. Miss Shea’s Christ-motivated compassion for others and delight in God’s beauty in nature then merged with a nearly two-decade career teaching art and serving as school nurse at Houghton Academy.

After retirement in 2011 she continued to nurse part-time and to paint, with her works displayed in homes, art shows and public spaces across the country.  She delighted in providing art therapy classes in several nursing homes in Allegany County, held weekly Bible studies at Allegany County Jail, and served alongside others in children and adult ministries at Franklinville First Baptist and Wellsville First United Methodist Churches over several decades.

Surviving are brothers Jonathan (Pat) Shea of Sebring, FL, and Paul (Debbie) Shea of Houghton, five nieces and nephews, 12 grand nieces and nephews, and a host of friends who vouch that “she occupied a large part of my heart and life.

A Celebration of Life will be held on Friday, May 20, 2022 at 11:00 am in the Houghton Wesleyan Church with a graveside service following at Mt. Pleasant Cemetery, Houghton.

Memorials if desired may be designated to: Houghton Academy, Houghton College, and/or Kamawkie Wesleyan Hospital (Sierra Leone) through Global Partners of the Wesleyan Church.