Rose Angela Sheehan

Rose Angela Sheehan passed away peacefully in her home surrounded by loved ones on February 7, 2026.

Rose was born in Salinas, CA to hard working Italian parents. Italian was her first language, which she spoke with her parents and her grandmother.

She grew up surrounded by relatives and friends and she thrived in this social setting. She often spoke of how much she cherished having many guests in her beloved childhood home. She also enjoyed going to visit relatives. She said this brought her so much joy she always ran up to hug them. Her grandmother had many siblings. She often described some of their travel stories such as her Great Uncle opening up a cafe in South Africa. She mentioned several times how her grandma’s sister immigrated here, alone with baby, and how scary that must have been with no knowledge of English. However, when she traveled by train across the country to California, everyone on the train was very helpful and nice to her. Through the years, Rose’s love for family showed up in many ways, such as going through vintage photos of her relatives and consistently organizing very large and also small family gatherings, giving each person a sense of belonging no matter how close or distant their relationship was.

She attended high school and junior college in Salinas and then transferred to U.C. Berkeley. She enjoyed the U.C. Berkeley International House immensely. She often shared various memories of her friends there, such as bringing friends from India home to meet her parents.

After graduating from UC Berkeley with a degree in Romance Languages, she worked as a secretary for the CIA in Washington D.C. On nice days she would sit on the grass and eat her lunch by the Reflecting Pool near the Lincoln Memorial. When the CIA offered her a job overseas, she was homesick and declined so they offered her a job in San Francisco.

While living in San Francisco she stayed in a boarding house where she met her lifelong husband Bob Sheehan. She often smiled when she spoke of how they met. She often had conversations with Bob in the common dining area. She didn’t want Bob to know she worked for the CIA so she told him she worked at the Civil Service Building. She said Bob was so surprised and exclaimed " How odd! I work for the Civil Service Commission and I've never seen you there!"

She later told him the truth. What followed was marriage, three children and a life filled with holiday celebrations, day trips, travel, family outings and get-togethers and a growing family. Bob and Rose moved from San Francisco to Davis after their second child.

Rose was an avid tennis player for years in Davis tennis tournaments. She created a very tennis atmosphere at home, encouraging her children to play tennis. She had many tennis friends, some she remained close with for the rest of her life.

She loved country music and anything with a western feel such as rodeos and western style restaurants. She enjoyed large family reunions at the Salinas Rodeo.

She loved family summer vacations in Yosemite and other national parks, family day trips to her favorite childhood beaches in the Monterey Bay Area, day trips to small towns in the Foothills, going on cruises with Bob to Alaska and traveling to Italy. She loved family time in Disneyland and for one trip she invited her parents who came from an Italian culture and lived through the Depression. Rose had the very fun pleasure of observing her parents’ new experiences and also their reactions throughout the Disneyland Park—wonderful memories for the entire family!

Rose worked as an assistant librarian at the UC Davis Law Library for many years.

A devout Catholic, she regularly attended weekly mass at St. James Church and became friends with other parishioners. As a result, her children developed fond memories of a Catholic upbringing.

Rose was also a member of the Italian Cultural Society where she could speak her first language with her new friends there.

She was very proud of her children and also her grandchildren, Scott and Amanda. When Scott recently married his wife Kim, Rose said she was very grateful that she was able to attend their wedding.

She loved going out to eat with family, talking about fun-filled memories of her childhood, her Berkeley college days, Washington D.C., and meeting Bob.

She cherished her time on earth and she will be sorely missed by all.

Rose is survived by her three children Francis, Stacy, and Rachel, her daughter-in-law Wendy, her grandchildren Scott and Amanda, her granddaughter-in-law Kim, and her great-grandchild, due in September.

A funeral mass will be held Wednesday, February 25th, at 11:00 a.m. at St. James Catholic Church, 1275 B Street, in Davis.