James Mahon
Eulogy for Sheila Welcome and thank you all on behalf of the Lazar and Shanahan families for joining us today. We are here to celebrate the life of Sheila Lazar. Sheila was a wife, a sister, a daughter, an aunt. Most of all she was a dear friend to all of us who knew her. Sheila was the first born of Irish immigrant parents Mike and Beatrice Shanahan, big sister to my wife Mary and their sister Kathleen. She grew up in the Irish Mission District of San Francisco, proud of her Irish heritage. She attended Catholic parochial school through high school in San Francisco. That?s the synopsis of her early years. What you won?t find on her early resume is the dream to be the first woman driver in the Indy 500 and the record of her ?career? in drag racing on the Great Highway out near San Francisco beach. To many Sheila seemed to enjoy life to the fullest but there was something missing. That missing something showed up one day in the presence of Wayne Joel Lazar. They met at work. Wayne likes to tell the story of how he first heard Sheila?s mustang roaring through the company parking lot before actually meeting Sheila. They hit it off immediately and were like 2 peas in a pod that perfectly complimented each other. It appeared that Sheila naturally adapted herself into Wayne?s strong Assyrian heritage and culture, learning to prepare and cook kebabs and ?vacationing? (if that is the proper term) in Turlock, Ca where the hot dusty summers reminded Wayne?s relatives of ?the old country?. Wayne, to his credit, became a ?regular? at the Irish Cultural Center in San Francisco enjoying corn beef and cabbage dinners. Every St Patrick?s Day Wayne would search his wardrobe to come up with something green to wear which he always would proudly displayed to anyone and everyone who chanced by. The strength of their bond was amazing. It endured for 45 years. Both were strong individuals in their own right. No relationship can survive that long unless each person is willing to put the other first. So we know that their love was one for the ages. As time went on, Sheila faced medical challenges without a whimper that would have killed the spirit of many. Suffice it to say that she underwent multiple medical testing, treatments, hospitalizations, surgeries. Of course, Wayne was always there for her. The final medical challenge turned out to be too much and overtook her body but never her spirit. She fought the good fight. She made us all proud to have known her. Thank you Sheila. Please join with me now in the reading of the Irish Blessing for Sheila ?May the road rise to meet you? I will first recite each line and we can all then say it out loud together? May the road rise to meet you May the wind be at your back May the sun shine warm upon your land May the rain fall soft upon your face until we meet again May God hold you in the palm of his hand