I’m so sorry to have learned of Sean’s death so late. I was on the faculty at University at Albany in the program where he earned his Ph.D. Graduate school is no cake walk. Sean took his training very seriously. Some of our most intimate moments involved him coming to my office to express concerns about his path. He was always receptive to coaching, candid, and focused. His persistence was always admirable. Like other veterans, he approached projects with the attitude that failure was not an option. At times, I thought he continued with research and clinical work when the payoffs might not have exceeded the efforts, but when he gave his word, he gave his bond. A dinner at my house that included two of his pals from the program (Joey De Leo and Nicholas Van Dam), revealed his strong desire to father a son. (I have two daughters; he was very respectful about his preferences.) I might have served both scotch and bourbon (his preference) that evening. Long before he had started dating Rowan’s mother, he envisioned a boy who could help him pass on skills, knowledge, and enthusiasm for clear communication, which he thought served as a foundation for his love of sport, animals, construction, and contribution. He loved his son before his son was born. Years later, once Rowan did show up, Sean’s glee was delightful to watch.

He only took one of my classes: Research Methods in Clinical Psychology. He lacked the background in statistics that some of his classmates had, but persevered. The course introduced him to a methodological technique that he subsequently used in his dissertation. Although he was not formally a member of my laboratory, we ended up publishing together more frequently than I did with some of my own students. His work also had tremendous impact. Two of my most widely cited papers, referenced below, included unparalleled efforts from him. His American Psychologist article was a superb feather in his cap. No graduate student publishes in that journal as first author. It was a stellar achievement.

He kept his clinical work very private. He never missed a chance to help others. I know that his work at the VA had to be extremely challenging given his own military experiences. He was incredibly generous with time and effort in ways that words cannot portray. He offered gratitude at almost every opportunity and rarely spoke before listening, making him superb company. In an email from 10 years ago, I praised him for a crafty answer to a thorny methodological question in an email that began, “Sean is right, as usual.” He replied: “Of course I am, who trained me?”

My own grief will take quite some time to sort out. Anyone who wants to join me in swapping stories should be comfortable with watching a grown man weep, but I would gladly listen and share for the rest of my life. (mearleywine@albany.edu)

Herzberg, K. N., Sheppard, S. C., Forsyth, J. P., Credé, M., Earleywine, M., & Eifert, G. H. (2012). The Believability of Anxious Feelings and Thoughts Questionnaire (BAFT): a psychometric evaluation of cognitive fusion in a nonclinical and highly anxious community sample. Psychological Assessment, 24(4), 877.

Sheppard, S. C., Malatras, J. W., & Israel, A. C. (2010). The impact of deployment on US military families. American Psychologist, 65(6), 599.

Van Dam, N. T., Sheppard, S. C., Forsyth, J. P., & Earleywine, M. (2011). Self-compassion is a better predictor than mindfulness of symptom severity and quality of life in mixed anxiety and depression. Journal of anxiety disorders, 25(1), 123-130.

On this Christmas day as we gather in Cormery with Pierre and Jean Claude we have a special thought for Sean and beyond for all the family. Time flows and yet it does not affect the happy memories that we shared both when all the Sheps came to France and when we traveled to the US.

The bonds between our two families were created by our parents and although we did not caught up much lately we still cherish those memories.

For us Sean remains a wonderful man that stood up for his country when he heard the call and I am sure that he was a superb father.

All the family sends his love, thoughts and prayers to Sean and his loved ones. Jean Claude, Jean, Pierre