Dr. Robert A. Shea, 71
The man is not the man without the story.
Robert Albert Shea was born to Albert George Shea and Mary Elizabeth Sullivan on Sept. 30, 1937, in Boston. He died at his home March 21, 2009, surrounded by close friends and his loving wife and companion of 27 years.
Being born along the Atlantic shore, he developed a love of water that would stay with him throughout his life. His first stories were of being brought home by a fisherman who found him alone, floating too far out at sea.
When he was old enough, he attended Catholic boarding schools and Jesuit high schools. His stories of Catholic high school were more about Sister Bertha. "A little firebrand and wonderful teacher that could hit a softball like a man." He was an alter boy for Father Kroyak and Father Murphy. He received the Sacrament of the Sick by Father Fleming of Missoula. The Jesuits gave him an excellent classical education. He would forever charm people by singing Christmas carols in Latin. Later in life, when he wore a certain sweater, his friends would joke and say, "You look like a priest on vacation."
He went to a Jesuit university, St. Mary's, in Halifax, Nova Scotia. And at about 5 feet 7 inches tall and 160 pounds, he played football for the Saints (later to be the Huskies). During that time the Saints won two Maritimer Junior titles. He was a gifted and disciplined athlete with an abundance of heart and soul. He stayed in touch with his college buddies all of his life. They were always Peter, Paul, John and Bobby. He continued to love "the game of football" and became an avid Grizzly fan. After moving to Missoula, he went to every home game and a few out-of-state games.
After graduating from St. Mary's, he was drafted into the Army on Dec. 6, 1961, in Butte. How he arrived at Butte from Nova Scotia was somewhat of a mystery, but there were rumors of a coach's daughter.
While in the Army, he served at Check Point Charlie. He was there during the Cuban Missile Crisis. His stories were like those of any young recruit: pitching a tent in the snow, marching with empty bayonets, having the older German women throw coal at the Americans, and of course the trips into town, and typical of him, getting caught using the officers' outdoor facilities.
When the wall came down, he and his wife returned to Berlin and chipped away at this piece of history.
After his military service, he taught school for a year. Bob attended Springfield College where he earned a master's degree in counseling and psychology. He then made a decision which would change his life and leave his legacy.
It was the Kennedy era and he went off to save the world for democracy. The Vietnam War had started and he went to work for the State Department's Agency for International Development. He was involved in refugee work and in teaching the Vietnamese to defend themselves. He was first assigned to AID Saigon. He was then assigned to the Office of Civil Operations working under John Paul Vann. He held various posts, such as refugee adviser to district senior adviser. On Oct. 27, 1967, at 0030 hours, while working on medical evacuation of a number of soldiers who were wounded resulting from a VC attack at Cau Ben Cui outpost, he was wounded by the VC.
He received the Chuong My Medal on April 13, 1968, signed by the president of the Republic of Viet Nam, Nguyen Van Thieu. He received the Purple Heart for wounds received in action as a United States civilian on Nov. 6, 1984.
In 1968, he returned to Washington, D.C., and spent nine months in rehabilitation at the Bethesda Naval Hospital, Maryland. But it was 1968 … hear the music. He wanted out of D.C.
He went to Washington State University in Pullman, Wash., for his graduate work. He was very surprised when the plane landed and all he saw were open fields. He received his Doctor of Philosophy degree from Washington State University on June 3, 1973.
He also discovered life. He backpacked, climbed mountains, fished, rafted rivers, sailed, and enjoyed downhill skiing. Bob told wonderful stories of climbing Mount Rainier to scatter the ashes of his dog Harry, and having to use his ice ax to get the can open because it was so cold at the top; of rafting the Lochsa and flipping the raft every time they went down; of sailing Desolation Sound.
He continued to sail with his graduate student friends during the past 30 years. They moved on from Desolation Sound to sail the Inland Passage to Alaska three times. Their last trip was in 2003. He absolutely loved the Smith River. This raft trip became a rite of spring.
On June 29, 2000, he received the State of Montana Governor's Citation by Gov. Marc Racicot for unselfish and courageous actions for a recovery on the Blackfoot River.
At the age of 70, he took his own raft down the Middle Fork of the Salmon. In August 2008, he made his last trip. He was with a dear friend and fellow river rat with whom he had skied, rafted and hiked for more than 25 years. They spent a week along the south arm of Yellowstone Lake.
When he had time from his adventures, he and his wife traveled throughout the world. In later years, they enjoyed the western islands of the Caribbean. He also liked to hunt upland game birds. He loved his Chesapeake, Trek.
But … his life's work was with veterans. He had a deep understanding and compassion for veterans. He helped them in his clinical work as well as with the Veterans Administration. He wanted it written on his tombstone: "I made the V.A. change a form." His first work with veterans was in about 1973 at the Veterans Administration in Tacoma, Wash. He was a consultant on post-traumatic stress disorder. He then came to Missoula in 1981 and opened his clinical practice. At that time, his work with veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder was groundbreaking. He was a major contributor to the Montana State Vietnam Veterans Memorial at Rose Park.
In November 1988, Bob flew with a group of Missoula veterans to the Soviet Union. They spent some time in Moscow and then went on to Alma Ata in Kazakhstan. Alma Ata was close to the Afghan-Chinese border where battalions of paratroopers were enlisted and sent to Afghanistan. There were many similarities between the veterans from Afghanistan and the Vietnam vets. They translated the pamphlet on post-traumatic stress disorder word by word. Quoted from an article he wrote, "We taught them in rap groups, we held rap groups for their wives, we played touch football and soccer." "Brothers in Arms' by Jack Lyon documented their trip. When he came home from Kazakhstan he no longer had his own private nightmares. A few years later, funding was raised to bring two of the Afghan veterans to Missoula. Sergi and Sergi were hosted in his home.
Later in his practice he became interested in forensics. He was a diplomate, board-certified forensic examiner. He worked for the Public Defenders Office for years. He would come home from the jail and say, "I just met the nicest man; he just made some wrong choices." He was always the behaviorist. Bob also enjoyed working for the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes.
As he was making his journey to pass over, it was like a large puzzle, the last piece being put into place the night before his death. The night caregiver was from Russia. We talked of Kazakhstan, of Alma Ata, of the apples and the ice-skating rink, of the beautiful mountains. He again was at peace. He passed on in the morning, the first full day of spring at 9:41 a.m. in the home he had built, wearing a Smith River cap, a Montana T-shirt and a medicine pouch. Maybe the only thing missing was a cigar. He was surrounded by those who loved him.
He is survived by a large family of everlasting friends; his wife; and distant relatives.
A memorial service to celebrate his life and honor his service to the community will be held at 5 p.m. April 14, at Heritage Hall, 30 Fort Missoula Road, in Missoula.
In lieu of flowers, donations in Dr. Shea's honor may be made to: Yellowstone Association Institute, P.O. Box 117, Yellowstone National Park, WY 82109; and/or The Glacier Institute, P.O. Box 1887, Kalispell, MT 59903; and/or Hospice of Missoula.