Howard Joseph Shea

Howard Joseph Shea, 78 a resident of Easton, NY passed away unexpectedly at his home on Friday August 27, 2021 following a period of declining health. The eldest son of Robert F. and Jessie (Fenn) Shea, he was born in Bennington, VT on December 17, 1942. Howard grew up in Bennington and was a graduate of St. Francis de Sales Academy and Bennington Catholic High School where he played on the football team. He continued his education at Vermont Technical College, following graduation from college he pursued a lifelong career in Civil Engineering. He loved being involved in building bridges, his work took him to several states including Connecticut, Ohio, Florida and Rhode Island. Howard was co-owner of Good Erectors Services, Inc. and served as a consultant to the Norton Company. He had a sense of adventure and traveled to Indonesia as a consultant for the Norton Company overseeing the installation of several manufacturing lines in a plant in Surabaya. Later in his career and until his retirement, he was a consultant to Stonebridge Iron and Steel in Gansevoort, NY. After living in Clifton Park, NY for 26 years, Howard fulfilled his lifelong dream of having a farm and spent the last 16 years in the rolling hills of southern Washington County, NY where he grew vegetables and berries. He also raised game birds including pheasant and quail for re-population into the wild. Never without a dog, he had raised many Springer Spaniels, Britany Spaniels and English Setters which he used for bird hunting and field trials. A lifelong outdoorsman, Howard was an avid fisherman and hunter. He traveled to Canada on many hunting trips, always coming home successful. Howard was a communicant of St Joseph’s Church in Greenwich, NY. He leaves his wife Julianne (Hurley) Shea whom he married May 22, 1965 at St. Francis de Sales Church, in Bennington, VT, two sons Robert Shea and his wife Suzanne of Poughkeepsie, NY and Daniel Shea and his wife Heather of Stillwater, NY, a daughter Erin Sharpe and her husband Lin of Waxhaw, NC, two brothers Timothy Shea and his wife Kim of Salem, NY and Mark Shea and his wife Lisa of Bennington, VT, 10 grandchildren, three great grandchildren, his faithful canine companion Finn and many nieces, nephews and cousins. In addition to his parents, he was predeceased by a brother Peter Shea and a sister Kathy Shea. The Liturgy of Christian Burial will be celebrated from Sacred Heart St. Francis de Sales Church on Friday September 3 at 11am, burial will follow in the Park Lawn Cemetery. Friends may call at the Hanson Walbridge & Shea Funeral Home on Friday morning from 9 to 10:30 when the family will be present. Memorial gifts may be made to either St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital or the Mayo Clinic in care of the Hanson Walbridge & Shea Funeral Home, 213 West Main Street, Bennington, VT 05201.