John Sheahan, 1938-2024

John Sheahan  9 May 1938 – 8 December 2024

It is with sadness that we learnt that John Sheahan, past president of Bayside Kangaroos, died last night 8 December 2024, after a long illness.

John had dealt with Parkinson’s Disease with so much grace over the years. His wife, Jenny was a tremendous support especially so during the years of ‘shut down’ because of the Covid pandemic.  His wider family continued to bring cheer and support.  In the last 6 months his health declined.

Our sympathy is extended to Jenny and family members on the death of John.

John was made a life member of Orienteering Victoria  in 2013.  He and Jenny were the second recipients of the Victorian Services Award.  John was president of Bayside Kangaroos for 11 years from 2006 – 2017.  John also served on the Board of Orienteering Victoria.

John and Jenny were instrumental in the leadership of Bayside Kangaroos for years, ensuring the welcome of new members, the smooth running of events and full participation in the sport both in the Bush, Park and Street and then Mountain  Bike Orienteering.  They opened their home to fellow orienteers as well as organising end of season dinners at Park and Street events.  Indeed the Western Series continues to flourish because of Jenny’s continued involvement.  They regular organised for a group to attend a performance from the Whitehorse theatre company and convinced a bunch of non-singers to form the “Kooyoora Choristers” for a performance during the World Masters Event in Bendigo in 1985.

John had a  liking of very, very, weak coffee. When in Europe he would spend considerable time trying to describe to waiters how he wanted his coffee. Ted VG finally convinced him to order a cup of hot milk with a shot of coffee on the side.

John and Jenny loved to travel including to overseas orienteering events.  The Scottish 5 days was always included on their itinerary.  They often shared accommodation with others from Victoria.  John had this uncanny ability to always park right outside where he wanted to go, whether it was O’ing, a cafe or a restaurant.

Before his involvement in orienteering John was a keen runner and also helped train young students in various sports including football and cricket.  A fine athlete with a superb running style, his involvement in orienteering was a gift to this sport.  He encouraged everyone to get involved, to run their best, to understand how to navigate, to make maps, to see events happen and just to enjoy the sport and those they were competing with.  He was always after a new way of running an event to encourage enjoyment and participation.  So many times, after a bush event, he would sit down with newcomers and go over the routes taken.  John treated everyone with respect.  He was a true gentleman and we will all miss him.

Funeral Details:  There will be a small family gathering next week.

Jenny hopes to hold an event for the Orienteering Community in the New Year. When the details of this are known they will be circulated.

There are a number of posts from John’s many friends on Facebook – you can read and add to them here.