Sheila Brown Rawlins

Sheila (Brown) Rawlins, of Morris, Illinois, passed away on the afternoon of December 10, 2012. Memorial Mass will be 10:00 a.m. on Monday, December 17, 2012 with a visitation one hour prior to the Mass at Immaculate Conception Church in Morris, Illinois, with Fr. Ed Howe officiating. Burial will be in the Calvary Cemetery in Ottawa. Visitation will be from 3:00 to 6:00 p.m. on Sunday, December 16, 2012 with prayers at 3:00 p.m. with Fr. David Kipfer at Ottawa Funeral Home. Sheila was born in Streator, Illinois, to James and Dolores (McCormick) Brown. She married Michael Rawlins on June 16, 1994 at Immaculate Conception Church in Morris. She worked as a nurse at St. Mary's Hospital in Streator and most recently as a Nuclear Plant Nurse at many stations in the US. She was a member of Immaculate Conception Church in Morris. She is survived by her husband, Michael; her dad, James Brown of Grand Ridge; her children, Heather Condon, Jennifer Evans, Patrick (Karen) Smith all of Streator, and Emma (Michael) Keating of Morris; two brothers, Kevin (Pat) Brown of Ottawa and James (Cindy) Brown of Palmdale, CA; two sisters, Karen (Ahmed) Saleh and Christine (Sylvester) Benckendorf, both of Streator; seven grandchildren, Saul Moreno, Eden Bruhns, Maura Condon, Jasmine and Jessica Evans, Allison and Michael Smith; her former husband, George R. Smith; and his parents, George E. and Marguerite Smith all of Streator. She was preceded in death by her mother and grandparents, Christopher and Mary (Hanusik) McCormick and James and Alta (Head) Brown. Memorials may be directed to Immaculate Conception Church in Morris, Illinois and the American Cancer Society, for breast cancer research. Despite her illness, she was able to have a wonderful quality of life to the end, thanks to the care and concern of her family and friends. The family would also like to thank everyone for their love and care during her illness. During the last eleven years, Sheila touched countless lives with her knowledge, love, and compassion helping other women with breast cancer. She was a senior member of the National Her2 cancer support, Ottawa area breast cancer groups, and attended the annual San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium. Sheila was a true advocate on the education and survivorship of all women with breast cancer.