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Joseph Gerald Shea (1919–2005) was a special agent for the FBI.
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Early life
Shea was born in Brookline Massachusetts on September 20, 1919. He was the third child in a family of four sons born to Frank Shea and his Irish born wife, Alice Mary. The family moved in with their paternal grandmother after his mother's death when he was eight. Mr. Shea joined the Army in 1942, after working at the Ritz Carlton Hotel and the Boston Navy Yard. He served in the 36th Division as a Command Sergeant Major. He joined troops being sent to Europe on the Queen Mary, which was being used to transport troops overseas. The ship nearly went down at sea when hit by a rogue wave, but miraculously righted itself and the 15,000 troops aboard were safe. He traveled to Italy, France and North Africa during World War II. Following the war, Shea attended Boston College and majored in accounting.
Career with FBI
After graduation, he started working for the Federal Bureau of Investigation, beginning as an Identification Clerk. In February 1951, he was appointed Special Agent. During his career, Mr. Shea worked in several offices, including Louisville, Chicago and Atlanta. He worked on a number of interesting cases including the Barbara Mackle kidnapping and the Frank Abagnale case. He retired on December 31, 1977.
Personal life
Shea met and married Sarah Blakernan while in Louisville in May 1953. They have two daughters, Reva and Ruth. After his retirement, Shea moved to Kentucky, where he and his wife lived on a farm and visited St. Thomas each winter. They returned to Marietta, Georgia to live in 1997. Shea was very devoted to his family and enjoyed spending time with them. He was very loved by nieces and nephews, everyone's favorite, "Uncle Joe". He was especially devoted to his wife, who developed Alzheimer's disease in 1997. He was known as "Papa" by his grandchildren and always had time to spend with them. Mr. Shea was also an avid golfer.
Death
Shea died August 4, 2005 and was buried in Georgia Memorial Park Cemetery.
In Popular Culture
In the 2002 film Catch Me If You Can, the fictional character Carl Hanratty played by Tom Hanks is based on the relationship that Shea had with Abagnale.