Sheila Elizabeth Hurth

Sheila (Mom) was born in Detroit to Jim and Anne Clifford in 1927. She had three brothers and two sisters: Maurice, Jack, Catherine, Maureen, and Jim. Growing up during the Depression money was tight. Her dad always worked, but at times only part-time. Her brother Maurice contracted (Scarlett Fever) when she was very young. Her mom would have her entertain Maurice because she made him laugh. He died when he was just seven years old.

She and her sisters would go down to the railroad tracks and look for any produce that fell off the cars going around the curve they could bring home for dinner. She also remembered having to move out of their house in the middle of the night because they couldn’t pay the rent.

Eventually, her dad got a job with Grand Trunk Railroad, which necessitated them moving every year or two for his job. So she was always the “new kid” in school. She was an average student but preferred socializing to studying. By high school they seemed to have a more permanent home in Haslett and after graduating she got a job at the “college” ie MSU as a secretary.

She met our dad on a blind date and that began a two year courtship and a 42 year marriage that was the envy of all their family and friends. They honeymooned in Chicago and settled in Lansing. As a wedding present they received a dining room table with six chairs from Nan and Grampa and my mom said she couldn’t wait to fill the table up with their children. She got her wish and then some. They had seven children with twins at the end. Our childhood was very Ozzie and Harriet, filled with grandparents, cousins, and church friends and activities. We all went to Resurrection School and Mom was a Brownie Leader and avid fan at baseball and basketball games. She taught Catechism to CCD kids and at least one year she taught a special needs boy at our house. She took her role as mother seriously and we were required to go to weekly Mass and Confession once a month. We prayed the rosary on our knees every night after dinner and no one was excused. We were her army of helpers in the neighborhood. She had the boys moving lawns and doing yard work for the elderly. There was free babysitting and house cleaning by Lou Ann for mother’s having surgery or some other tragedy. She made Mary and Rina sing songs for the residents at my Gramma’s nursing home. She wanted us to develop a heart for service and to realize the world was bigger than our individual lives.

She was also lots of fun. When she would get together with her sisters it was a laugh fest. They were funnier than any comedians on TV and saw each other frequently. She loved playing cards, bridge with our dad and anything else with the fam. She was a serious card player and showed no mercy if you were over age 10. Holidays and birthdays were celebrated in a big way. Between her and our dad in was like FAO Swartz at our house on Christmas morning. Her hobbies were numerous. She was a gifted seamstress and made half of our clothes growing up. She was the one you went to for hems, patches, alterations, or advice on sewing. She loved fashion and loved shopping; she was what we used to call a clothes horse. She never bought a pair of shoes that wasn’t on sale, then she’d buy them three or four at a time. She garaged saled for furniture that she would bring home and paint or antique. She always made her own curtains and changed wallpaper and paint every year or so. She loved changing our rooms around. And my dad would say, “These poor kids come home from school and they don’t even know where their rooms are.”

She was an avid reader and read mysteries and lives of the saints. If a book was at all smutty, she would throw it in the trash. She was in a Bible Study for twenty years, always learning more and deepening her faith. She gardened her entire life from childhood on. And would shovel off her deck well into her eighties.

She loved being a gramma and welcomed every baby with open arms. Each one was special, gifted, and beautiful. If the grandkids turned out well, it was thanks to her many prayers and rosaries. For years her days were filled with grandkid activities. But still there was time to shop the mall with Aunt Ludy and be home in time for bingo with Aunt Maureen and Shelly.

Her life came to a screeching halt when our dad died of cancer. As God often does, He blessed her at the same time with a new grandbaby. Jim and Anne had Zach six days before dad died and he brought all of us the joy we needed during such a devastating time. She watched him for the first year when Anne went back to work. Because she was afraid to live alone Dan and Lou built an apartment for her on the back of their house. Uncle Jim was the builder and general contractor. There she enjoyed 23 happy years until she developed dementia beyond our ability to take care of her. The last five years were spent at Gunnisonville Meadows, where she soon became known as Sissy Bug. She was the only resident without a walker her first four years- and occasionally would tap dance for the staff. She loved to clean the dining room and work at the front desk, so they gave her a uniform and nametag. She was treated like family by all the staff and was happy and safe. Her brother Jim moved in about a year later. As time went on her dementia increased but she always knew us even when she couldn’t say our names. Early in the Covid pandemic she broke her right hip and was hospitalized, had hip replacement, returned home and contracted Covid. She never developed any symptoms and was healthy for a year and then broke her left hip, which began her decline. She was blessed with a beautiful death surrounded by family. Uncle Jim was at her side and all the grands were able to come in and say their goodbyes.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 11:30 am on Monday, May 24, 2021 at Church of the Resurrection, Lansing. Visitation will be held on Sunday, May 23, 2021 from 2-5 pm with a Rosary being prayed at 4 pm and on Monday 1 hour prior to Mass all at the Church. Interment will follow at St. Joseph Catholic Cemetery, Lansing.

Memorial Contributions in Sheila’s honor may be made to Church of the Resurrection School or The Dominican Sisters of Mary Mother of the Eucharist.