Sheila Bordeau Wien, 86, of Overland Park, Kan., passed away peacefully at her home on Saturday, December 18, 2021.
Private family services were held at Rose Hill Cemetery on Monday, December 20, at 12 p.m. A memorial service will be held in January 2022.
Sheila was born on May 5, 1935, in Chicago, Ill., the daughter of Robert Jerome Bordeau and Dorothy Lovitt Bordeau.
She earned her Bachelor’s degree in Education before pursuing a lifelong passion for learning and the arts. After several years in professional ballet, she taught 5th and 6th grades in Chicago and Cincinnati.
She had a wide-ranging career in business before women in the workplace were commonplace. A successful entrepreneur who welcomed a challenge, Sheila owned and operated a summer day camp; a business designing and manufacturing designer denim clothes; and a business recycling silver from hospitals throughout the U.S.
For Woolf Brothers, which tapped into her creative talents in the 1970s, she created “Lunch,” a restaurant offering healthy food options (a concept truly ahead of its time), and “Facets,” a shop for contemporary women. She went on to become Assistant to the President at Alaskan Fur. In the 1980s, as Executive Director of the Heart of America Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, she pursued her passion for providing financial and emotional support for others. Among her many other pursuits were advertising, public relations, marketing, and interior design.
With a vivacious personality and joie de vivre, Sheila lived life to the fullest. She loved to travel, but her favorite destinations were wherever her sons and their families happened to be. She was adored by her family and affectionately known as “Eia” by her grandchildren.
She loved to entertain, was an excellent cook, and had an impeccable sense of style. She and her husband Stuart were always on the go, and had an open-door policy for family and friends.
Sheila was predeceased in 2017 by her husband of 35 years, Stuart L. Wien, and in 2019 by her brother, Dennis A. Bordeau. She is survived by her four sons Andrew (Stephanie), Stephen (Peggy), Laurence (Nicole), and Geoffrey (Silvia); a stepson, Bill (Gail); and 12 grandchildren: Sam, Jack and Ava (Andy), Hannah, Will and Cadence (Steve), Ellie (Larry), and Lorenzo, Matteo, Micael, Marco and Manuel (Geoff). She will also be missed by her dog Riley, who provided faithful loving companionship.
In lieu of flowers, the family suggests contributions in her name be made to The New Reform Temple, Wayside Waifs, or a charity of choice.
The family is extremely grateful for the loving compassion of Harriet Sore and her team of caregivers. Online condolences may be left for the family at louismemorialchapel.com.
