Sheneill Renée Fitzpatrick, née Bland, was a proud woman. She was a proud child of the sixties and Chicagoan. She was proud to have been born the youngest daughter of Edward and Margaret Bland. She was the proud mother of Gesha-Marie Bland and Benin Bryant and wife to John Fitzpatrick. She was proud of her career as a critical care nurse dedicated to patient care and nurse’s rights for over forty years. Most recently, she was the proud dog mom of Zeus, Ajax, Thor, Loki, Hammer and Odin.

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From the time she grew an Afro in her teen years to emulate her icon Angela Davis, Sheneill understood the importance and true meaning of pride, that it’s more than just occasional cheer. She understood that with pride came a commitment to cherish, honor, and support her family, her heritage, her patients, and her community.

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Sheneill also understood that with pride comes work, a lot of it. Her professional life as a critical nurse reads like an epic survey of modern health care. From her beginnings in the Burn and Triage units of Cook County Hospital, she treated a long list of patients and saved countless lives, spanning 3rd-degree burn victims fighting for their lives, the frail newborns for whom she bought baby clothes when working in Neonatal ICU, and the vulnerable veterans for whom she helmed the VA TeleHealth programs during the Covid quarantine. Throughout her career, Sheneill worked tirelessly for her patients in the critical care units at Cook County Hospital, Rush Medical, and University of Chicago Hospitals, all while being an outspoken advocate for nurse’s rights. Other employment throughout her lifetime even included a stint as a code breaker for the FBI in high school.

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When she wasn’t working long hours, Sheneill loved the entirety of life as much as the little things that make the day-to-day worth living. From Diana Ross, to Buena Vista Social Club, to Johnny Cash, to Amy Winehouse to Bruno Mars, she loved music as if it ran through her veins. A voracious reader all her life, she championed reading and education to all, and loved literature of all sorts from Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales, Stephen King novels, biographies, history books, to Anne Rice’s Vampire Chronicles. Her embrace of life continued with an adoration of the Sopranos, AMC’s Interview with a Vampire series, pink rose bushes, black-eyed Susans, red robbins, German Shepherds and coconut cake, a recipe for which she mastered decades ago. Her love of life extended to the festive, musical atmosphere of New Orleans, brightly-colored clothes, and lively family gatherings.

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Sheneill Fitzpatrick passed away July 5, at the St. Francis Hospital in Evanston. She was preceded in death by her parents Edward and Maragret Bland, her brother Calvin Bland, and her sisters Pamela Bland and Linda Puckett. Sheneill is survived by her husband John Fitzpatrick, her children Gesha-Marie Bland and Benin Bryant, her brother Michael Bland, and sisters Veronica Lopez and Lynette Garcia, and beloved fur babies Hammer and Odin.

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Sheneill Fitzpatrick will rest in peace and pride after a life well-lived.