Obituaries
The blue eyes of Estie Sheahan glinted for the last time on December 27, 2023, when she passed peacefully at her home in Collierville. She was surrounded by her family and tireless caregivers. Estie was 84 years old.
Estie was a lifelong Memphian, born on April 25, 1939 to Marion and John S. King, Jr. She attended the Hutchison School and graduated from Marymount Secondary School in 1957. Mrs. Sheahan was a 1961 graduate of Marymount College in Tarrytown, NY where she majored in History and Spanish. She was nicknamed “Rebel” by her yankee classmates from the East Coast.
Estie married John Patrick Sheahan in June 1966. Together they raised three sons, John Jr., Kevin, and Whitfield. During their 49-year marriage, they enjoyed travelling together and with their large circle of friends. They especially enjoyed hiking and skiing together.
Anyone who knew Estie knew about her love of horses. She was an equestrian from a very early age. Growing up on Yates Road, her parents would often receive calls from Memorial Park when Estie and her mount would venture too far off the homestead. She was a member of the Oak Grove Hunt Club and the Longreen Hunt Club. She was one of the organizers and earliest exhibitors in the Germantown Charity Horse Show. She helped bring the United States Pony Club to young riders in West Tennessee. With age comes wisdom, and when competing over fences became too hazardous, she took up dressage, competing in the upper levels of that rigorous discipline.
Besides riding, Mrs. Sheahan had many other interests. She was a member of the Junior League of Memphis, the Tuesday Study Club, the Woman’s
Club, the Little Garden Club, and the Collierville Twentieth Century Club. Estie was a triathlete, taught aerobics classes, and was a decorated taekwondo enthusiast.
Mrs. Sheahan is survived by her sons, John Jr. (Stephanie) and Kevin (Laurie Parker). She is also survived by her three grandsons, John III, Kyle, and Grant. She is also survived by two horses, Mike and Pearl. Estie joins her parents, her husband, her son Whitfield, her sister Marion Woodall (Dale), and her brother, John S. King, III, in Heaven. She cannot wait to find the paddock where her steadfast mounts graze eternally: Comanche, Top Cat, Flapjack, Goldie, Sailor, I Care, Shenanigan, Travis, Easy Breeze, and Hoya Saxa.
Anyone who encountered Estie was met with a warm smile, a cheery disposition, and genuine caring. She was quietly confident, fiercely independent, eternally optimistic and endlessly curious. She understood well that life was a gift and lived it fully and gratefully.
The final leg of Estie’s journey would have been far more arduous without the loving assistance of Loretta Becton, Shirley Hill, Charlotte Maclin, Shirley Flowers, and Jeanette Thomas. The family is forever grateful for the kind and compassionate care they provided. Estie departed knowing she was loved, admired, and appreciated.
Please join family and friends celebrating Estie’s life. A visitation will be held on January 9, 2024, at 12:30 in the Narthex of the main church at Our Lady of Perpetual Help, 8151 Poplar Avenue, Germantown, TN 38138. A funeral mass will take place at 1:30 pm on January 9, 2024, in the Chapel at OLPH. Please send any memorials to Southern Reins or the charity of the donor’s choice.