Michigan
‘22 beautiful years’: Family mourns University of Michigan student who died skiing in Aspen
ANN ARBOR, MI – Eileen Sheahan brought a joyful energy into any room she entered, her family and sorority sisters said.
The 22-year-old University of Michigan senior had a smile that lit up an entire room, said her aunt Kathy O’Brien Caplice. Her Alpha Phi sorority sister Megan Martz called that same smile infectious, while another sister Grace Aretakis called it unforgettable.
Even after Sheahan died Saturday, Jan. 27, while skiing in Aspen, Colorado, her joyful energy still lingers, said her parents Terrence “TJ” and Patti Sheahan.
“We feel blessed to have had 22 beautiful years with our cherished daughter and comforted at this time to feel her presence and love all around us,” her parents told MLive/The Ann Arbor News.
Read more: University of Michigan student dies while skiing in Aspen
Sheahan, an Evanston, Illinois native, died when she hit a tree while skiing at the Aspen Highlands resort, Pitkin County Medical Examiner Dr. Steven Ayers confirmed.
Sheahan is survived by her parents, three siblings Erin, Margaret and Michael, and her extended O’Brien and Sheahan families.
Eileen Sheahan (middle left) with her siblings Michael (far left), Erin and Margaret. Photo provided by Sheahan’s aunt Renee Formell.Renee Formell
Her grandfather Michael Sheahan was Cook County sheriff in Illinois, and her mother is a Cook County circuit judge. Her parents said their daughter sought to follow the family tradition of public service.
“We are immensely proud that Eileen spent a lifetime of giving to others and continues that legacy with the gift of life by being an organ donor,” her parents said.
Sheahan was set to graduate from the University of Michigan in May with a degree in economics. Her grandfather remembered driving her to a train to head back to Ann Arbor for the Michigan-Ohio State football game, and the wide-ranging conversation they had.
“She was at a great point in her life,” he said. “It is so sad it was cut short, but her smile and laughter will be remembered by her family and friends forever.”
Prior to coming to UM, she attended the St. Joan of Arc grade school in Evanston and Loyola Academy in Wilmette, Illinois. Even though Sheahan was a strong student, she did not brag about it, Caplice said.
“Eileen was a beautiful and accomplished young lady who was looking forward to graduation, had nearly straight A’s and a job waiting for her when she was finished with school,” her aunt said. “However she was also humble and self-deprecating, which only made her more endearing.”
While at the University of Michigan, Sheahan was a student ambassador and an involved member of her sorority. One of her sisters Tessa Weinberger said Sheahan “touched everyone with her presence. Martz and Aretakis also remembered a trip they took Portugal with her.
“We were on a boat cruise with our friends and just Eileen and I went to sit inside to warm up,” Aretakis said. “We sat inside and chatted about our lives, the future, and how truly blessed we were to be abroad together.”
“I am so grateful we were able to travel the world and share the time that we had,” Martz said. “Every minute with Eileen was a minute well-spent.”
University of Michigan Dean of Students Laura Blake Jones said the campus mourns Sheahan’s death.
“We send our heartfelt condolences to her family, friends, classmates and all who knew her,” Jones said.
Those seeking support from the news may contact the university’s Counseling and Psychological Services, as well as the Dean of Students Office and the Faculty and Staff Counseling and Consultation Office, Jones said.
Sheahan loved spending quality time with her whole extended family, her parents said, adding she will be remembered for being an amazing big sister, best friend and role model.
“Eileen will be eternally loved and missed by all who were lucky enough to know her,” her parents said.
There will be a visitation for Sheahan at 2 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 4, at Donnellan Family Funeral Home in Skokie, Illinois. The funeral is 10:30 a.m. Monday, Feb. 5, at Old Saint Patrick’s Church in Chicago.
In lieu of flowers, family is requesting donations by made to The Eileen Sheahan Memorial Scholarship at The Academy at St. Joan of Arc grade school in Evanston or to Loyola Academy in Wilmette, Illinois.
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Authorities are asking for the public’s assistance to find a missing Oakland County teen who is considered endangered.
Adrianna Smith, 15, was last seen in the 3500 block of South Fenton Road, just south of the city of Holly in northwest Oakland County, according to Michigan State Police.
She is believed to have left her home in a 2002 Jeep Liberty with an adult male, possibly a man named Derek Girtman, MSP said.
Smith is described as having blonde hair and green eyes. She is about 5 feet, 7 inches tall and 160 pounds. She has one tattoo above her right knee and another on her left ankle.
Anyone with information about Adrianna’s whereabouts is asked to call 911 or the MSP Metro North Post at either (800) 495-4677 or (989) 370-8926.
The supreme court on Wednesday sided with Michigan in ruling that the state’s lawsuit seeking to shut down a section of an ageing pipeline beneath a Great Lakes channel will stay in state court.
Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote for a unanimous court that the Enbridge energy company waited too long to try to move the case to federal court.
The case is part of a messy legal dispute about a pipeline that has moved crude oil and natural gas liquids between Superior, Wisconsin, and Sarnia, Ontario, since 1953.
Dana Nessel, Michigan’s attorney general, sued in state court in June 2019 seeking to void the easement that allows Enbridge to operate a 4.5-mile (6.4km) section of pipeline under the straits of Mackinac, which link Lake Michigan and Lake Huron. Nessel, a Democrat, won a restraining order shutting down the pipeline from Ingham county judge James Jamo in June 2020, although Enbridge was allowed to continue operations after meeting safety requirements.
Enbridge moved the lawsuit into federal court in 2021, arguing it affects US and Canadian trade. But a three-judge panel from the sixth US circuit court of appeals sent the case back to Jamo in June 2024, finding that the company missed a 30-day deadline to change jurisdictions.
The pipeline at issue is called Line 5. Concerns over the section beneath the straits rupturing and causing a catastrophic spill have been growing since 2017, when Enbridge engineers revealed they had known about gaps in the section’s protective coating since 2014. A boat anchor damaged the section in 2018, intensifying fears of a spill.
The Michigan department of natural resources under Gretchen Whitmer, the state’s governor, revoked the straits easement for Line 5 in 2020. Enbridge filed a separate federal lawsuit challenging the revocation.
Enbridge won a ruling from a federal judge blocking the move, but Whitmer, a Democrat, has appealed to the sixth US circuit court of appeals. In March, the supreme court rejected Whitmer’s appeal claiming that she couldn’t be sued in federal court.
It was unclear how the federal ruling blocking Whitmer’s revocation attempt would affect Nessel’s case in state court. The company said in a statement that the judge in the Whitmer case had already decided federal regulators, not the state, are responsible for Line 5 safety and they had found no issues that would warrant shutting it down.
Enbridge also is seeking permits to encase the section of pipeline beneath the straits in a protective tunnel. The Michigan public service commission granted the relevant permits in 2023, but a coalition of environmental groups and Michigan tribes has filed a lawsuit seeking to void state permits for the tunnel. The state supreme court is weighing that case.
Enbridge also needs approval from the US army corps of engineers and the Michigan department of environment, Great Lakes and energy.
The pipeline is at the center of a separate legal dispute in Wisconsin as well. A federal judge in Madison last summer gave Enbridge three years to shut down part of Line 5 that runs across the Bad River Band of Lake Superior’s reservation. The company has appealed against the shutdown order to the seventh US circuit court of appeals, but it started work in February to reroute the line around the reservation.
The Bad River Band and environmental groups have filed a state lawsuit seeking to halt the work, arguing regulators have underestimated the damage the reroute construction will cause. That case also is pending.
Porter Martone becomes first teenager to score game-winning goals in his first two NHL playoff games.
Porter Martone becomes first teenager to score game-winning goals in his first two NHL playoff games.
Three Michigan State recruits will represent Team USA at the world U18 hockey championships in Bratislava and Trencin, Slovakia.
The U.S. opens against Czechia on Wednesday (10 a.m., The Hockey Network).
The future Spartans are: defenseman Nick Bogas (Royal Oak), defenseman Tyler Martyniuk (Washington Township) and forward Brooks Rogowski (Brighton).
Other local commits include: defenseman Abe Barnett (University of Michigan) and goalie Luke Carrithers (Western Michigan).
Team USA’s head coach is Nick Fohr (Dexter) with Kevin Porter (Northville) and Dan Darrow (Livonia) among the assistant coaches.
The tournament features 10 countries with the final scheduled for May 2.
Bruins tie series with Sabres
The visiting Boston Bruins scored three second-period goals and held off a late Buffalo Sabres rally to post a 4-2 win on Tuesday and even their Eastern Conference quarterfinal playoff series at one victory apiece.
Viktor Arvidsson scored in the last two periods, giving the Bruins 1-0 and 4-0 leads. Morgan Geekie and Pavel Zacha also lit the lamp for Boston, which heads home for Game 3 of the best-of-seven series on Thursday.
Jonathan Aspirot, Casey Mittelstadt and David Pastrnak each dished out two assists for the Bruins, and Jeremy Swayman made 34 saves.
Bowen Byram and Peyton Krebs scored as Buffalo climbed within 4-2 in the closing minutes.
Sabres goalie Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen allowed four goals on 19 shots before Alex Lyon entered in relief following Arvidsson’s second marker, which came just 16 seconds into the third period.
Buffalo had a 36-26 shot advantage, including 20-8 in the third period, but its power play went 0-for-5. Boston finished 1-for-6 on the man advantage.
The physical contest featured 47 penalty minutes for each team.
Following a scoreless opening period, the Bruins took over in the second, scoring on three of their 11 shots against Luukkonen.
Arvidsson broke the deadlock 4:54 into the middle frame, taking Aspirot’s lob pass in ahead of the defense and beating Luukkonen five-hole with a backhander from the left circle.
A gaffe by Luukkonen helped Boston double its lead with 3:31 left in the period, as Geekie’s high backhanded dump from the far side of center ice eluded him over the glove.
The Bruins’ power play got in on the action 1:41 later. After Geekie’s one- handed keep-in at the blue line extended the play, Zacha tipped in Pastrnak’s shot from the top of the right circle while stationed in the bumper position.
Arvidsson made it 4-0 early in the third, prompting Sabres coach Lindy Ruff to change goaltenders. Aspirot banked a long feed off the boards to set up the play, leading Arvidsson down the left wing to score on a 2-on-1 rush with Zacha.
The Sabres struck twice in a 1:14 span to make things interesting. Byram accepted Beck Malenstyn’s back pass for a wrister from the top of the right circle to break Swayman’s shutout bid with 6:06 left.
Krebs soon made it 4-2, batting down and scoring the rebound of a Rasmus Dahlin point shot that caromed off the post and back into the crease.
Detroit Red Wings received six A’s in The Detroit News’ final grades for the 2025-2026 season.
Grades and key takeaways for Finnie, Gibson, Seider, Larkin, Raymond and DeBrincat after the Wings’ late collapse.
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