Sheala O’Brien Jackovich was born 95 years ago in Durban, South Africa as an only child where her father, Terrence, raised greyhounds. Sheala met Tony, her beloved husband, at a roller rink in Durban when he was in port as a Merchant Marine. They returned to the states and settled in many places over the years, including California, London, New York City, Galveston, and Vermont, just to name a few. They bought their home in Round Pond in the late 1960s and spent a few years summering there while they renovated and winterized.
In 1971 they permanently moved here and enrolled their children in the local school. They didn’t sit still for very long. In 1974 they gathered up their children and headed for Mexico, traveling down the East Coast staying a short time on the Yucatan peninsula, a beach house in Guatemala, then traveling up the West Coast spending time in Oaxaca, Acapulco, Puerta Villarta, and San Miquel Allende, all the while homeschooling their children. They also lived in Hawaii for seven or eight years where Sheala discovered her love of Kendo and trained many years. She even traveled to Japan with a team from Hawaii to compete. To say that they lived an adventurous life is an understatement.
Finally they more or less settled in Round Pond while Tony painted and went to sea with the Merchant Marines. Sheala, always thinking of others, volunteered for many organizations including The Helping Hands of Round Pond and People to People. In 1999, while visiting their daughter, Gina, and son, Ivan, in Malaysia, they discovered and fell in love with Bangkok. Sheala and Tony traveled by bus and train through Thailand and Sheala fell in love with the markets there and the rest is history. She brought home all of her many treasures to sell and opened her Round Pond Shoppe. She was especially known for her “fat seagulls.”
Mainly though, Sheala will be remembered for her endless kindness, bright smile, and her overall peace and love that she shared freely with everyone she met.
She and Tony live their lives to the absolute fullest. They realized their dreams of traveling and their dreams were also fulfilled in Round Pond with Tony’s art studio and the long-awaited windmill that he always dreamed of building. Sheala found her happiness with her large following in her shop and bringing a smile and joy to everyone who shopped there.
Sheala is survived by her three children, Gina Perry, Ivan Jackovich, and Tonia Gracie. She leaves four grandchildren, Kailani Gracie, Collette and Raymond Perry, and Adrian Jackovich; and two great-grandchildren, Kalea and Rhylan.
