Br. Eugene Sheehan, who gave his very best to God, the Church, and his Capuchin brothers at St. Pius X in Middletown, Conn., for four decades, died on Nov. 4 in Dobbs Ferry, N.Y. He was 81.

God’s pleasure, forever and always, is to take a human being and use them as an instrument of blessing. And God used Eugene Sheehan. God had great pleasure in using him,” said Fr. Martin Curtin in his homily at the funeral, which drew about 170 people to St. Pius on Nov. 11

James Sheehan was born in Brooklyn and attended public and parochial schools in Woodside and Maspeth, N.Y., before graduating from Glenclyffe, the Capuchin minor seminary in Garrison, N.Y., in 1961. Received as a lay brother candidate later that year, he began a canonical postulancy on Oct. 4, 1961. Serious back pain forced him to withdraw in August 1962. After his recovery, he was readmitted to the Order and was invested as a novice on March 18, 1965. He made his perpetual profession of vows on March 19, 1969.

For the rest of his life, Brother Eugene fulfilled the ministry of a traditional lay brother, serving his brothers as tailor, cook, porter, in the laundry shop, and as maintenance man. From 1966 to 1981 he performed these tasks in various fraternities around the Province, including Mary Immaculate Friary, Garrison; St. Anthony Friary, Hudson, N.H.; St. Lawrence Friary, Milton, Mass.; and Sacred Heart Friary, Yonkers, N.Y.

iary, Milton, Mass.; and Sacred Heart Friary, Yonkers, N.Y. In August 1981, Brother Eugene took up residence at St. Pius X Friary and Parish in Middletown, where he would remain for the next 37 years as provincial tailor and parochial assistant. He would endear himself to generations of Middletown parishioners and to the many friars who lived with him.

Brother Eugene’s fingerprints, said Br. Lake Herman, were on almost every one of St. Pius’ social and fundraising activities: the Sunday coffee socials, the bingo games, the Lenten fish dinners, the parish auction, the golf outing, and many others. He supervised the lay employees and teenagers who worked in the parish office, opened the door, and answered the telephone. He developed close relationships with the religious brothers and sisters who taught at Xavier and Mercy High School in Middletown and was an advocate for the students. He befriended the local clergy, staying in touch with many of them after they moved on. He kept his eye on young families as they had children and watched as those children grew up, married, and had their own children.

He was no less devoted to his fellow brothers. After all, as provincial tailor, his fingerprints were literally on every habit they wore. “He loved serving the brothers in that capacity,” said Brother Lake. “It was quiet and unassuming work, and yet in every friary he lived in, the tailor shop became like the town square. Everyone seemed to gather there as he did his work.” At the friary dinner table, he would follow the friars’ stories and chime in to fill in the gaps in their chronicles. “Eugene paid attention. He listened. He was a brother,” Brother Lake said.

Brother Eugene moved to St. Clare Friary, Yonkers, N.Y., in June 2018 and resided there until shortly before his death. He always carried out his duties with courtesy and graciousness, even as he struggled in later years with many health issues. “Eugene was a model of long-suffering,” said Brother Lake at the wake service at St. Pius on Nov. 10. “His health issues plagued him and grew progressively worse since he entered the Order. He had his rough edges. And yet he had a ferocious love for God, for the Capuchin way of life, for his family, and for all of you.