Sheila Mulcahy

MADISON - Sheila Mary Hogan Mulcahy age 76 of Madison, Wisconsin passed away peacefully in her sleep on Wednesday, October 21st, 2020 at her home after a heroic battle with cancer in Madison WI.  She was born July 14th, 1944 (Bastille Day!) in Minneapolis, Minnesota the daughter of Adrian and Mary Erickson Hogan.  As a child Sheila created the Eustis Street Weekly Bleat announcing her lifelong interest in being a literate socially aware person.  She captured the 1957 Clinton County spelling championship as a student at St. Irenaeus Grade School in Clinton Iowa, where she also composed the school's crossing guards fight song.  Sheila also originated the Knee-highs Drum and Bugle Corps as a teen and graduated St. Mary's High School, Clinton, IA in 1962.  Sheila was a 1966 graduate of the College of St. Benedict, St. Joseph, MN where she acquired many new friends and her husband.  Sheila married Ryan Mulcahy March 18, 1967 in Edina, MN.  The couple moved to South Bend, Indiana, where she worked as a reporter for television station, WNDU. The marriage was blessed by the birth of a son, Benjamin Ryan, April 13th, 1969 in Mishawaka IN.  The family moved to Madison, WI in 1970 where Sheila completed her master's degree in journalism with the thesis Female Images in Women's and General Interest Magazine Advertising, 1905-1970.  Sheila served for many years as the assistant to the Chancellor of the University of Wisconsin Extension before her retirement.

Sheila was an avid crossword puzzler plowing through the New York Times Sunday puzzles with ease.  She was a great planner of European adventures and got to many places she had longed to see.  Sheila loved cats from her earliest age and drew much fun and comfort from them throughout her life.  But Sheila was most fond of her son and his family, especially her grandchildren Quinlan, Dorothea and Toby.  Sheila was proud to cast her presidential ballot this year and encourages everyone to vote.

Sheila is survived by her husband Ryan of 53 years; her son Benjamin Ryan (Rachel); grandchildren Quinlan, Dorothea and Toby; sisters Anne Ahern Wareham (Jerry) and Mary Margaret Hogan (Bill Wilder), and brother James Matthew Hogan (Theresa). Sheila is predeceased by her parents, Adrian and Mary Erickson Hogan, and her beloved brother, Mark (Tara) Hogan.

There will be no funeral service due to the pandemic.  Sheila's ashes will be interred in the Mulcahy family plot at St. Mary's Cemetery, Minneapolis, MN. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the College of St Benedict, Saint Joseph, Minnesota.