E. Sheila Johnson, 79, of Allentown, Pennsylvania, passed away suddenly on February 16, 2026. She was the third of nine children, born June 21, 1946, the daughter of Robert E. and Elizabeth A. (O’Donnell) Johnson.
After graduating from Allentown Central Catholic High School in 1964 and Fitzgerald Mercy Nursing School in 1967, Sheila earned a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Cedar Crest College in 1969 and cared for pediatric patients at Allentown Hospital, nursed adolescents at the Yale Psychiatric Institute and taught nursing at Fitzgerald Mercy Hospital and Haverford State Hospital. Later she became a respected voice in economic development, spending twenty years at PPL Corporation as Marketing and Economic Development Director, thereafter serving as vice president of the Berks Economic Partnership and contributing to the renaissance of City Center Lehigh Valley.
Sheila was, from early on, a writer. She liked to recount that in seventh grade she published her first poem about wet leaves in rain and that was the beginning of her writing career. She obtained a Master of Arts in Theatre from Villanova University in 1977 and honed her writing at the Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference at Middlebury College and the Creative Nonfiction Forum at Goucher College. In her 2014 memoir, My Father, in Snow, Sheila interweaves memories of her father with the voices of her brothers and sisters. She was very proud of that book. If you wish to feel her spirit again, it is on every page.
Sheila is survived by her brothers and sisters, Catherine, Robert, Jack, Kevin, Marian, Brian, and Nancy, her cousins, Sheila, Patricia, Mimi, Kathy, Gary, and Riley, and by many nieces and nephews and their children. She was preceded in death by her beloved youngest sister, Eileen.
Visitation will be held on Thursday, February 26, 2026, at 9:30 – 11:00 AM at St. Catharine of Siena Church, 18th and Turner Streets, Allentown, Pennsylvania. A Mass of Christian Burial will follow at 11:00 AM. Burial will take place immediately afterward in Resurrection Cemetery, 547 North Krocks Road, Wescosville, Pennsylvania. Arrangements entrusted to Heintzelman – Stephens Funeral Home, P. C.
In lieu of flowers, the family welcomes contributions in memory of Sheila and her sister, Eileen, to VIA of the Lehigh Valley, which serves individuals with disabilities. Donations may be made at: https://www.vianet.org/ways-to-help/donate-today/