Mr. Thomas Joseph Sheehan Jr.

January 6, 1928 - July 11, 2017

Thomas Joseph Sheehan Jr., 89, of Sun City Center, died July 11, 2017, at the Braden River Rehabilitation Hospital, Bradenton, Florida after a short illness. He was born January 6, 1928, in Springfield, Vermont, the second child of Thomas J. Sheehan, Sr., and Mary Doris LaFrank, and was reared in Claremont, NH. He attended Syracuse University before serving in the U. S. Army from which he was honorably discharged. He subsequently graduated from Keene State Teacher's College in 1950, the year he married Carolyn LeClair of Claremont, NH, who survives him. Tom used his G.I. Bill to earn a master's degree in education from the University of Florida. He taught history for one semester at a Hillsborough County, Florida, public high school, leaving after realizing that it wasn't for him. In 1952, he went to work as a salesman for Jay Hearin at Mr. Hearin's real estate office in downtown Tampa. In the early 1960s, Tom and another salesman, Jim Atkinson, bought the company. In 1969, following the death of Mr. Atkinson, Tom and his wife became sole owners of the company, keeping it until their retirement in 1978. Tom and Carolyn have children, in-laws, and grandchildren: Thomas III (Jen) of St. Petersburg; Susan Heitker and her sons, Gabriel and Pascal, of New York; and Sally Smith (Robert) and their daughters, Carolyn Ann and Malinda, of Columbia, Maryland. His sister, Joyce Garverick, died in 1999. There will be no viewing; Tom's remains will be cremated. A memorial service will be held at 9:00 am on Monday September 25, 2017 at the Roy Funeral Home, 93 Sullivan Street, Claremont, NH. Committal services will follow in St. Mary’s Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, please consider a gift to the Claremont Firefighters' Association, c/o Chief Rick Bergeron, Claremont Fire Department, 100 Broad Street, Claremont, NH 03743-2677. The fund provides scholarships to Stevens High School students. You are invited to share a memory of Thomas with the family or leave a message of condolence in the family guest book at www.royfuneralhome.com. Arrangements have been entrusted to the Roy Funeral Home and Cremation Service.