Maria Laura Sheehan

November 21, 1935 – September 11, 2020

Our beloved mother, Maria Laura de Arteaga Sheehan, age 84, passed away peacefully surrounded by her family on September 11, 2020. Originally from Montevideo, Uruguay she was the eldest of four children and the only daughter of Laura Hill Rodriguez and Cesar de Arteaga Suarez. Her brothers, Eduardo and Cesar de Arteaga preceded her in death. Her younger brother, Pablo resides in Brazil.

She attended Sacred Heart School and College in Uruguay receiving her degree in business and English teaching. In 1957, she moved to Washington DC and worked for the Embassy of Uruguay.

There she met and married James Joseph Sheehan, a patent attorney in 1960. They lived in Alexandria, Virginia where they raised four daughters; Maria, Margaret, Catherine and Patricia.

In 1975, the family moved to Geneva, Switzerland where Jimmy took a job with the World Intellectual Property Organization. She worked with the Uruguayan Mission to the United Nations. The family enjoyed traveling extensively throughout Europe. Upon Her return to the United States, Maria worked as an executive bilingual secretary for many consulting firms such as Coopers and Lybrand and Price Waterhouse.

The family also co-owned the “Seven She’s” in Bethany Beach, Delaware where they spent many happy summers with family and friends.

She and Jimmy retired to Bethany Beach, Delaware after building a comfortable home to accommodate their growing family until Jimmy’s death in 2007. In 2013, she moved to Richmond, Virginia to be near her three daughters and their families. She enjoyed her activities in Richmond which included Bible study, water aerobics and French class. She was active at St Edwards the Confessor Church and volunteered her time in the community.

A welcoming presence wherever she went, Maria maintained her relationships near and far including her childhood friends from Uruguay who she visited often, her friends in Europe and her neighbors in Alexandria and Bethany Beach. She loved to read and especially enjoyed the arts. The intricacies of the European Royalty were her secret passion.

She was an attentive, warm, loving grandmother to her 11 grandchildren Kelsey, Alex, Laura, Anna, Matt, Gabe, Tori, Sofie, Chris, Lucas and Nate. Her vivacious and generous spirit will deeply be missed by her family, friends and the many “adopted” daughters she embraced along the way.

Funeral mass will be held Friday, December 4, 2020 at 1:00 pm at St Edwards the Confessor Church, 2700 Dolfield Drive, North Chesterfield, VA 23235.

In lieu of flowers, please consider making a donation in her name to Trinity Episcopal School, 3850 Pittaway Drive, Richmond, VA 23235 where many of her grandchildren attended.