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Jim Sheedy was a founder of PEF.\u00a0 He served in every statewide office of the union from vice president to secretary-treasurer and president.\u00a0 He died August 14 at his home in Tucson, Arizona.\u00a0 He was 85.<\/p>\nJim Sheedy was a founder of PEF.\u00a0 He served in every statewide office of the union from vice president to secretary-treasurer and president.\u00a0 He died August 14 at his home in Tucson, Arizona.\u00a0 He was 85.<\/p>\n
No person has served as an officer of PEF longer than Sheedy.\u00a0 He was a vice president in the first administration of the union from 1979 to 1982.\u00a0 He was elected secretary-treasurer of PEF in 1982 and was repeatedly re-elected to that post, serving from 1982 to 1994, when he was elected president.\u00a0 He was president until 1997.\u00a0 And after 18 years as an officer of PEF, he returned to his job of 25 years as a civil engineer 1 at the state Department of Transportation, where he again worked through 2000.<\/p>\n
He served on the NY State Employee Assistance Program Advisory Board and chaired it for several years.\u00a0 He was also active in the Capital District Chapter of the NY State Employees Federated Appeal (SEFA) Committee that he chaired for more than a decade.\u00a0 In addition, he served several years as a trustee of the PEF Membership Benefits Fund.<\/p>\n
\u201cJim set a standard of service to this union and to New Yorkers that should be an inspiration to us all,\u201d said PEF President Wayne Spence.\u00a0 \u201cJim served with four different presidents of PEF and then led his own administration.\u00a0 His record of working with so many different elected leaders is unique.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sheedy was well known and liked for his quiet honesty and diligence.\u00a0 He didn\u2019t speak often, but when he did speak, people listened because he focused on facts and avoided personal attacks.<\/p>\n
Barry Markman, a former PEF vice president and a retired PEF staff member, said he was deeply saddened to learn of Sheedy\u2019s death.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was a real gentleman,\u201d Markman said.\u00a0 \u201cPeople always respected what he had to say, and you felt that he would listen to you respectfully.\u201d<\/p>\n
Markman said Sheedy devoted a lot of his efforts toward building PEF divisions.\u00a0 \u201cHe always worked with the divisions and made sure they got the resources and support they needed to meet the challenges they were facing.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cJim was a real unionist.\u201d<\/p>\n