Leslie (Carleton) Sheehan
Leslie (Carleton) Sheehan of Merrimack NH, the matriarch of the Sheehan family, died peacefully at home on March 4th surrounded by her family after a courageous battle with thyroid cancer. Leslie lived 81 years and was fighting for more.
She was born in Lowell Massachusetts, the second oldest of five children born to the late Natalie (Fisher) Carleton and Edward Carleton. She met the love of her life Robert (Bob, Boomer) Sheehan on a blind date and they were married in 1968. They spent their lives in Merrimack NH, working and raising their two amazing children Neal (their favorite son) and Meghan (their favorite daughter). Both are married, Neal to his wife of 22 years Sarah Anderson, and Meg very recently to her husband Rob Murphy. The family was very fortunate that Leslie was able to attend Meg and Rob’s February wedding.
If you had the pleasure of meeting Leslie, you would remember her. She was an exceptional conversationalist, with a quick wit, who was unfailingly generous to family, friends, and often even strangers who soon became friends. She was exceptionally thoughtful, she could always find the perfect card for any occasion and never missed an occasion. Her paper calendar was legendary, mounted on the fridge, jam-packed with the dates important to her. She found joy in giving the perfect gifts to those she loved, and in taking trips all over the world. Leslie had an adventurous spirit and pulled the rest of her family along with her. She traveled to Ireland twice, the first time with her sister Marilyn. They loved it so much, Leslie went back a second time to share the experience with her husband, Bob. These were trips of a lifetime, and she has the photos and the nickname (“Click, Click”) to prove it. Leslie and Bob also spent their 70th birthdays on vacation in Australia and New Zealand, where they both battled their fear of heights and climbed atop the Sydney Harbor Bridge.
Leslie was predeceased by her parents, stepmother Geraldine (Cotton, Reagan) Carleton, beloved older sister Marilyn Parsons and husband Leon (Al), their daughter Alane, Leslie’s younger brother Edward Carleton Jr., step-brother John (Jack) Reagan and wife Carolyn, step-sister Patricia Standring and son Stephen, sister-in-law Nancy Chandler, and dear friend Gloria Sterin.
Leslie leaves behind her loving husband Bob, their son Neal and his wife Sarah, daughter Meghan and her husband Rob; Bob’s sister Ellen Sheehan, brother-in-law Gene Chandler, his children, Erik Chandler, Justin Chandler and wife Corie Ewers Chandler; Leslie’s younger sister Judi Cunniff, her husband Thomas, and their children, Julie Walsh and husband Mark, Ann Cunniff Pastore, Susan Cunniff Norton and husband Mike, Thomas Cunniff and wife Shannon; Marilyn and Leon Parsons’ children, Leon (her godson) Parsons III, wife Brenda, the late Alane Grant’s husband Timothy, Natalie Hebert, Laura Dowling, Lisa Winkley and husband Brian, Lance Parsons and wife Erica Letourneau, Leslie (her namesake) Boisvert and husband Joshua; her late brother Edward’s sons Michael Carleton, Matthew Carleton and wife Jodi; step brother in-law William Standring and his daughters Lois Standring, Virginia Standring Trueblood and husband Mark; her best friend Katy Carlin, and so many other friends and family who will miss her.
Visitation hours will be held at the Rivet Funeral Home, 425 Daniel Webster Highway, Merrimack NH on Friday, March 17th, 2023 from 4 – 7 PM. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at Our Lady of Mercy Church, 16 Baboosic Lake Road, Merrimack, NH on Saturday, March 18th at 10 AM. A social gathering will be held following the funeral at a location to be determined. All are welcome. Leslie’s ashes will be interred at Greenlawn Cemetery in Salem, MA at a later date.
In lieu of flowers the family asks you to make a donation to the charity of your choice in her honor.
Kindly visit rivetfuneralhome.com to leave a condolence for the family.