JOSEPH T. SHEEHAN, LT, USN

Joseph Sheehan '23

Date of birth: January 23, 1900

Date of death: December 27, 1934

Age: 34

Lucky Bag

From the 1923 Lucky Bag:

Joseph Thomas Sheehan

Worcester, Massachusetts

"Shorty" "Midget"

SHORT breezed into our midst from the heart of the Commonwealth on June 29th, 1919, the same diminutive, excitable, impulsive thunderbolt that he is today. As an Under Classman he successfully defied all attempts of pituitrin thyroid to make him grow and of the Upper Classmen to make him reform. Old Erin has no rooter more enthusiastic than Shorty, "What do those fellows over there want anyhow?" never fails to explode the fireworks.

Under the old regime his habits were model. Neither Lady Nicotine, Lady Luck nor any other lady meant anything to him; but with the coming of the new regs Shorty fell for the Bearded Lady hard, and from the looks of the mails, also for some other lady—Carleton Roof? Commodore? Qui sait?:

Once upon a time way back in the misty months of Plebe year the heavens fell and Shorty frapped the bush. We treasure the record as a gem of history, for those who stand above him Academically are few indeed.

Sub Squad (4, 3, 2).

Joseph Thomas Sheehan

Worcester, Massachusetts

"Shorty" "Midget"

SHORT breezed into our midst from the heart of the Commonwealth on June 29th, 1919, the same diminutive, excitable, impulsive thunderbolt that he is today. As an Under Classman he successfully defied all attempts of pituitrin thyroid to make him grow and of the Upper Classmen to make him reform. Old Erin has no rooter more enthusiastic than Shorty, "What do those fellows over there want anyhow?" never fails to explode the fireworks.

Under the old regime his habits were model. Neither Lady Nicotine, Lady Luck nor any other lady meant anything to him; but with the coming of the new regs Shorty fell for the Bearded Lady hard, and from the looks of the mails, also for some other lady—Carleton Roof? Commodore? Qui sait?:

Once upon a time way back in the misty months of Plebe year the heavens fell and Shorty frapped the bush. We treasure the record as a gem of history, for those who stand above him Academically are few indeed.

Sub Squad (4, 3, 2).

Loss

From Arlington National Cemetery:

HONOLULU - December 27, 1934 - Lieutenant Joseph Thomas Sheehan, U.S.N., attached to the USS Beaver, was found dead here today with his throat slashed. The police said it apparently was a case of suicide.
A real estate man found the body in a vacant house next door to Lieutenant Sheehan's residence. Mrs. Sheehan identified the body as that of her husband. Naval authorities began an investigation.

Other Information

From researcher Kathy Franz:

Joseph married in 1928.
He was on the U. S. S. S-2 from July to November, 1929, and then he was assigned to Submarine Division 2.
In May 1931, he was sent to the Stevens Institute of Technology in New Jersey, and in 1932 he was on the U. S. S. Beaver.
His wife Ursula gave birth to their daughter Patricia in February, 1932, in New Jersey. In June, the family traveled from San Francisco to Honolulu. Son Brian Thomas was born in Honolulu in August, 1934. They left Honolulu two days after Joseph’s death on the S. S. Lurline for Los Angeles. His son Brian had a long career in the Air Force, with the federal government and with defense companies.
In 1910, Joseph’s father Daniel was a highway laborer in Worcester, Massachusetts. Joseph’s mother, sister, and older brothers were all working as well. His mother and sister worked at a woolen mill, Cornelius was a factory bookkeeper, and Andrew and Daniel, ages 16 and 15, were laborers in an optical company. In 1920, his father was a park caretaker.

He is buried in Arlington National Cemetery; he was survived by his wife, parents, and five siblings.