Mary Sheila Monfreda Obituary Sheila Monfreda, wife, mother, grandmother, great grandmother and friend, passed into Heaven on April 2, 2022. She is survived by her husband John, her eight children Matt, Michael, Gregory, John, Marie, Roger, Paula, and Keith, 17 Grandchildren and 13 Great Grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her brother Jack, her sister Pat and grandson Stephan. Sheila was Born on February 17, 1935 to Charles Mears and Angela Litzleman. She grew up on Wilcox Street in Indianapolis and attended St. Anthony’s Elementary School and St. John’s High School. She attended Marian University and majored in sociology. In her second year at Marian, Sheila met a handsome Marine named John at a CYO (Catholic Youth Organization) gathering for young adults and they went steady for three years. After graduating, Sheila and John joined in marriage at St. Anthony’s church on August 31, 1957. Sheila was a devout Catholic her entire life and raised her children in the faith, telling them of the importance of God in their life. She showed what it meant to honor her vows to God in her marriage. This year would have been her 65th wedding anniversary. She lived a life of devotion to God, evidenced by her lifestyle of following Jesus to the end, her prayers, and weekly gathering for mass. She was also known for caring for the welfare of others. She volunteered for many organizations, such as Helping Hands, an early version of Safe Place. One of her last acts was to send money to Ukraine to help those in need there. Sheila also demonstrated her faith through service to the church serving as an ecumenical minister and volunteering for many parish activities at St. Ann’s in Indianapolis and St. Mary of the Pines in Shreveport, Louisiana. In 1975 she saw that her children wanted to spend time at their friends’ church and took it upon herself to restart the junior CYO program, serving as the Adult Moderator for the St. Ann’s High School CYO group. As if having eight children wasn’t enough she took on a group of teeangers to instruct in life, hosting meetings and parties at her house. She carried two large purses with her with which she could handle any “emergency”. She was recognized for her dedication as a volunteer with two awards from the Archdiocese of Indianapolis. Starting her family with John on Biltmore Avenue and as it grew to eight kids on Alan Drive she became very adept at balancing the life of wife, mother, counselor, teacher of her family. She taught the importance of faith and kindness to all. She taught us the rewards of hard work and how to do the “basics of life”, working, cooking and cleaning. As her children grew older and towered over her she wasn’t afraid to say “ I brought you into this world and I can take you out”. Because of her gentle spirit and winsome smile she evoked a deep love for her from her children, grandchildren and great grandchildren. She taught the joy of living life to the fullest and wasn’t afraid to start water fights with family. She always carried a pack of cards and dice with her because you never knew when a game might break out. Some of her favorite games were pinochle and euchre. It was always boys against girls and she could trash talk with the best of them. Later in life even though she was confined to a wheelchair, she promoted goodwill to all with her smile and friendly attitude. She became known for her colorful hats. She could start a conversation anywhere. One time at Christmas while shopping there was almost an hour wait to check out. Before it was all over she had almost the entire line talking and laughing together Sheila is also known among many friends as “The Avon Lady”. She began her 42 year career as an Avon representative in 1980, driving to homes and making friends around Camby, and later in Shreveport. It was a weekly ritual to wait for the delivery of Avon boxes and help mom sort them into the various orders. Her business grew and she was recognized for her sales success. She was even a pioneer in the use of new technology for sales representatives. While in Shreveport, Sheila was also a sales representative for Home Interiors (now Home & Garden Party). After making Avon deliveries, she would load up the car with wares to host parties and socialize. She loved to attend the corporate sales events in Dallas and would always come home with the funniest stories. With two successful sales businesses our home was always well stocked with cosmetics and candles! Returning to Indy in 1995, she continued to sell Avon and make new friends wherever she lived - in Speedway, Danville, Plainfield and finally, in Avon! She never retired and even made deliveries this year. The last order is sacked up and sits on the floor of her office. She took many trips with family - Jean and Howard, Freida and Fred. traveling with them was always an adventure because this was before they had cell phones. Many times they would lose each other on the road then find each other. One time all four tires blew out in the middle of nowhere and a tire shop one mile down the road. Traveling to California to see Jim and Bev always brought about stories that made you laugh until you cried. The high seas couldn’t stop her. She took a cruise to Venezuela to see family there. She was also a world traveler, taking a trip through Europe in 2005 to visit England, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland and France. Whenever she was asked how she was doing, her catchphrase was “I keep on Rolling” Accomplishments Her greatest accomplishment was living her life dedicated to her faith and her family. She also achieved many more than these: Order of the Paladin. - St. Johns Bachelors in Sociology - Marian University 1981 Mel Olvey Memorial Citation for Junior CYO Adult Moderators 1982 St. John Bosco Medal for outstanding volunteer service Those wanting to celebrate her life are invited to the Outpost@Naturalvalleyranch 6310 E CR 350 North beginning at 2 pm on Friday April 8th Memorial Contributions in memory of Sheila may be made to Missionaries of Charity 2424 #. 10th Street Indianapolis, IN 46201.