Cindy Jean Sheely

Cindy Jean (Backman) Sheely, 64, of Renton, Washington, passed away Saturday Feb 20th from a brain aneurysm. She was born to Leonard and Adeline (Waddington) Backman in July of 1956, in Renton, WA joining one older sister Donna. Cindy was an unexpected surprise and delight to her parents. They had been told they could not have children and were very pleased when they had Donna. Ten years later, Adeline thought she had the stomach flu and was shocked to eventually discover that she was expecting Cindy.

Cindy grew up in the Seattle Skyway neighborhood and attended elementary and middle schools that were right by her house. She fondly remembered coming home to special lunches with her Mom and sharing the day with her. She attended Renton High School and had many special friends there. She graduated in 1974.

From the time she was a young girl, Cindy had always wanted to be a teacher. She would often pretend by arranging her dolls (and sometimes her cat) in a classroom and teaching them. The family’s finances did not look good for her to attend college, but it was at this point in her life that Leonard began his lawn jobs to earn extra income for Cindy’s education. She spent her first two years attending Highline Community College and then transferred to Seattle Pacific University to begin working on her Elementary Education degree. She moved into the dorm there and loved the times with her roommates and friends. They would gather each evening in her room at 10pm to make popcorn and watch The Rockford Files on her small black and white TV. She did her student teaching at Thorndyke Elementary in Tukwila and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts cum laude in Elementary Education in 1978. Her Dad had worked tirelessly all those years to support her education. They never did take out a loan. Cindy felt like her Dad should have walked with her on stage when she received her diploma.

Teaching jobs were hard to find in those days. Cindy sent out numerous resumes to different public schools but could not find anything. Her Dad even talked to her about getting a different job for a while. But then God led her to an opening at Rainier Valley Christian School. There she began teaching a second/third split class and had her first introduction to private Christian education. After two years there, the principal gave her a reference and encouraged her to apply at Seattle Christian. She began work there in the fall of 1980 and taught for the next 26 years, spending time in both first and second grade.

Cindy loved teaching. She often remarked that she would forget that this was a job that she got paid for. She saw teaching as her ministry. Her goal each year was to make each child feel that secretly they were her favorite. She loved shaping those young lives, and she practiced firm discipline. If she caught a child lying or cheating, she knew that this would be a God given opportunity to mold them for eternity. One of her students once remarked “Mrs. Sheely may smile a lot, but she rules with an iron fist”. In 1994, she was named to “Who’s Who Among America’s Teachers”.

In July of 1982 she married the love of her life, Kevin Sheely, who worked at Boeing. They first met at church in 1979 but Kevin did not ask her out until months later. She said yes, but later regretted it and ended up telling him her cousin had got her tickets to a show on that night. They finally did go out, but when Kevin asked her out on a 2nd date, she ended up canceling that one as well. A few dates later Cindy had a “let’s just be friends” talk with Kevin. He didn’t quite get the message and kept pursuing Cindy. Their relationship slowly grew close over time and they got engaged on Valentine’s Day in 1982. Cindy chronicled their story in a book she created for a class.

Cindy struggled with health issues her whole life. Five weeks before the wedding, she had major surgery to remove a tumor on her pituitary gland. Later she went through radiation and medication that made her sick. She battled with infertility and endured painful treatments. She had severe headaches throughout her life. She suffered a heart attack and later a stroke. But through all the struggles, she never lost her cheerful attitude and unwavering faith.

Cindy attended the Skyway Church of God (later named NextStep Fellowship) her entire life. She served in several ministries there, playing the piano and organ, singing in the choir, teaching and leading Children’s ministry, acting in dramas, preparing meals, being on the Welcome team, doing visitation, Mexico missions and supporting Kevin in all he did. After retiring, she attended Bible Study Fellowship and was a faithful prayer warrior.

In 2006, Cindy and Kevin felt led to look into adoption and began the long, legal process. Several obstacles were in the way, technically they didn’t qualify and the adoption almost didn’t happen as the agency announced they were closing during the process. But God miraculously intervened. Cindy retired from teaching and they traveled to Taiwan in November of 2006 to adopt their infant daughter Kaylen. She was Cindy’s greatest joy, her treasure. The two were inseparable. Cindy loved being a mother even more than teaching. Cindy juggled taking care of her aging parents while raising Kaylen, but she was able to honor both.

Cindy is survived by her husband Kevin and daughter Kaylen. She was preceded in death by her parents Leonard and Adeline Backman and her sister Donna Lombardi.

Greenwood Memorial in Renton is handling arrangements.

Cindy loved opening the eyes of her students to the wonderful world of reading, especially with stories from the Bible. She often would tell them “we know that this is a true story, because it is in the Bible”. In honor of Cindy's love for reading and Christian education, please send remembrances to the:

Seattle Christian School Elementary Literacy Project

18301 Military Road South

SeaTac, WA 98188.

A memorial service is scheduled for April 3 at Calvary Chapel South in Kent, WA. Please RSVP thru this link: https://rsvp.church/r/Iac1twO5.