Obituary of Maureen Sheehan

Maureen “Mo” Sheehan, 65

March 20, 1958 - March 17, 2024

Maureen Sheehan was born in Janesville, Wisconsin, on March 20, 1958, and died peacefully surrounded by family on March 17, 2024. She is survived by her mother, Louise McMenomy nee McCarthy, brothers Dennis and Tom, a sister Peggy Hays, and her longtime partner, Michael Lawrence. Her father Francis “Frank” Sheehan preceded her in death.

Maureen was a sports-loving youngster, unafraid to take on any sport and definitely unafraid to compete with the boys. She was an avid water skier and the call “just one more time, Dad, please!” was heard frequently on Turtle Lake, the family’s summer getaway spot. The pool, the road, and the basketball court were home for Mo throughout her life.

That passion for sports earned her nine varsity letters in track, basketball, and swimming at Janesville Craig High School. She competed in the Wisconsin High School State Championships in both swimming and track and was the first female from her hometown to earn a college scholarship in any sport. In 1996 she was inducted into the Janesville Sports Hall of Fame. 

She followed her dreams to Kansas University to swim under the tutelage of Coach Gary Kempf. At KU she continued to excel, earning All-America honors twice and was named team captain twice. Throughout her life she remained a passionate Jayhawk fan (especially roundball!) and was known to shout out “Rock Chalk, Jayhawk” just for fun.

At the age of 9, she knew she wanted to be a swim coach. She officially became “Coach Mo” in 1980 when she joined the coaching staff of the Lake Forest Swim Club, in north suburban Chicago. She took over the reins of the program in 1984 and continued to make her mark in the coaching world. Over the next 35 years she mentored 5 Olympic swimmers, recorded 51 State titles, and countless National Championship qualifiers. 

Her career of excellence in coaching has been recognized with induction into the American Swimming Coaches Hall of Fame (2019), the International Swimming Coaches Hall of Fame (2021), and the Illinois Swimming Hall of Fame (2020).

She took on a new challenge, golf, late in life. Once again her dogged pursuit of excellence led her to the winner’s circle multiple times. In addition to winning many local/regional tournaments, she qualified for 9 USGA Mid-Amateur, Public Links, and Senior Amateur National Championships. In 2018, Just 10 months after being diagnosed with lung cancer and while on continuous chemo and immune therapy, she was one of just 23 amateurs to play in the Inaugural U.S. Women’s Senior Open, qualifying as medallist for the event.

Coach Mo retired from active coaching in 2019 after being diagnosed with Stage 4 inoperable lung cancer. She continued however, to stay in touch with those she coached over her 39-year career. She is incredibly proud of the accomplishments, character, and success stories of LFSC alumni, always ready to lend an ear or counsel; she never really stopped coaching.

Services for Coach Maureen “Mo” Sheehan are on Friday, March 22, 2024, at St. Paul the Apostle Church in Gurnee. Visitation is at 10:00 am, Funeral Mass at 11:00 am. Interment at Ascension Cemetary will be private.

In lieu of flowers, Coach Mo asks that donations be made to Go2 Foundation for Lung Cancer or the Lung Cancer Research Foundation honoring her courageous battle with lung cancer.