Sheila (Baker) Mason

Sheila Mason St. Michaels, Sheila Mason passed away at Talbot Hospice House, Easton on Sunday, May 19, 2013. Born in Sheffield, England on October 11, 1922, she was the daughter of Sidney & Bertha Baker (nee Crookes). Sheila graduated from the University of Leeds after having spent seven years as a Trust Officer at the Midland Bank during which time she witnessed first-hand the bombing of Coventry during the Second World War. She became a lecturer at the University of Warwick where she met her husband Edwin Mason and they remained the best of friends until his death in December 1992. By 1955 she had moved to London where she spent four years studying under the tutelage of Anna Freud, Sigmund’s youngest daughter. She then worked at Anna’s clinic, The Hampstead Child Therapy Clinic for the next nine years. In 1969, Sheila packed three steamer trunks and with a seven year old son and a friend made the trip to America on the Cunard QE2. She joined the University of Michigan’s Department of Psychiatry and helped open the new Child Psychiatric Hospital. In 1974 she was voted teacher of the Year. In 1978, she earned her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology. She remained in private practice until her retirement at age 70, in 1993. For the next ten years Sheila spent the summers in England at her house in Solihull, W. Midlands and the rest of the year in Ann Arbor. She travelled the world visiting places as diverse as China, Japan, Russia and the Continent; as well as exploring her adopted country from coast to coast. Sheila became an American citizen in the late nineties and soon moved to St. Michaels, Maryland to be with her son. Here she maintained her interest in gardening by becoming a Master Gardner and volunteering on the Library Garden Club. She was active with her Great Discussions group, followed current events, and had a keen interest and depth of knowledge about the universe and cosmos. She enjoyed the beauty and friendships that she found in St. Michaels. She is survived by her son Jonathan Mason of St. Michaels, numerous nephews and nieces on both sides of the Atlantic. In addition to her parents, and husband she was preceded in death by; her brother’s Norman, and his wife Wyn, Herbert and his wife Winnie, her sister; Peggy and her husband Eric. Friends are invited to a casual celebration of her life at the Ostrowski Funeral Home, St. Michaels, on Monday, June 3, 2013 from 4:00 to 6:30 PM. There will be a short memorial service in the autumn as her ashes are taken home to Warwick, England to be with her best friend Edwin. Memorial donations may be made to the Talbot Hospice Foundation in support of a truly excellent and caring organization.

Sheila (Baker) Mason

October 11, 1922 - May 19, 2013