Local resident of influential family passes away
Lucy O’Donoghue (88, née Sheridan), a life-long resident of Boksburg, passed away peacefully at the Alan Woodrow Frail Care Centre, Boksburg on Friday, October 9.
According to her daughter, Teresa O’Donoghue, her mother was the fourth of six feisty red-haired daughters born to John and Margaret Sheridan (née Carrigan) both of Dowra, County Cavan, Ireland.
John emigrated from Ireland to South Africa in 1910 and was employed by Premier Mines in Pretoria. His future wife, Margaret, at the time immigrated to the United States to live with her uncle in New York.
John and Margaret corresponded for some years until John brought her to South Africa and they were married in the Monastery Church, Hillcrest, Pretoria, in 1917.
This little church is now part of the complex called Tukkiewerf, on the Hatfield campus of the University of Pretoria.
The Sheridan family lived in Cedar Avenue, Plantation, with John serving as the superintendent of the ERPM Hospital.
On the death of their mother in 1935, the four youngest daughters, Jennie, Lucy, Allien (Eileen) and Nell became boarders at St Dominic’s Convent, Boksburg, while the older two, Mary and Peggy, were day scholars.
“My grandfather never remarried and so his girls, including my mother, would came home most weekends,” said Teresa.
“My mother, being a bit of a rebel, was sometimes grounded, as it were, but this suited her very well as she spent the weekend playing tennis and hockey with other boarders.
“She went on to captain Southern Transvaal hockey and tennis in the 1940s.
“She had an abiding interest in sport, particularly cricket and rugby, scoring cricket test matches featuring South Africa in what eventually numbered six journals.”
Teresa pointed out that interestingly enough, her mother’s sister, Eileen Marshall, became a matron at the Johannesburg General and Boksburg-Benoni Hospitals.
“My aunt Eileen worked closely with Father Stan Brennan to establish the St Francis Care Centre in Boksburg West.
“Today, Nell McKeen is the last surviving sister.”
Lucy eventually married John O’Donoghue, who was also a keen sportsman and a member of a long-standing Boksburg family.
Boksburg Cardinals Baseball Club was founded by John’s uncle, Grattan O’Donoghue, and John, together with his three brothers and a brother-in-law, were the first members of the club.
“My father passed away on December 9, 1982, after suffering a Myocardial Infarction,” Teresa said.
“My mother, in the meantime, worked for some years at CBC Boksburg, running the tuck-shop and enjoying her daily repartee with the boys about the outcomes, good or otherwise, of various weekend sporting events.”
Lucy is survived by her five children – Teresa, Kevin, Patricia, Kathleen and Brendan – and their families, which include nine grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.
“She will be greatly missed by all who knew her and who enjoyed her humour,” Teresa added.
A Requiem Mass was celebrated at St Dominic’s Catholic Church for Lucy on Saturday, October 17.
