Sheila Rae Petty

Sheila Rae Petty, 78, of Winston-Salem, North Carolina, passed away peacefully on September 23, 2026.

Sheila was born to Helen and Eugene Casey on June 26, 1948. Over the years, she lived in Illinois, Missouri, Iowa, Texas, and North Carolina, where she and Keith moved to Winston-Salem when Keith took a job at the Winston-Salem Journal.

Sheila Graduated from Quincy HS and attended Western Illinois University. She met Keith in Kansas City while attending Airline Training School. They were wed in 1971 and remained together for nearly 55 years.

Sadly, Sheila and Keith lost two beloved children, Justin, who passed as an infant, and Jason, who passed in 2021. She is survived by Keith, her son, Ethan (who lives with his wife, Julie, in Montreal, Canada), and four grandchildren: Tristen in Winston-Salem, Julien in Lexington, and Sarah and Sam in Montreal. She has three siblings, all living in Quincy, Illinois: Chris Logan, Royce Casey, and Carol Casey.

Sheila lived for family, friends, and anyone else in need. She was an active volunteer and was involved in numerous church and school activities. She loved nature and spent much of her life outdoors. In Texas, She and Jason built a hobby farm with miniature goats, ducks, turkeys, chickens and an assortment of other animals. In Winston-Salem, she transformed the backyard into her own garden sanctuary, with brick pathways, flowers and plants, bird baths and benches. She loved her pets and leaves behind her beloved cockatiel and ShihTzu.

When her son, Ethan, showed interest in computer game design, she was his biggest supporter. She shared his imagination and wild sense of humor. She was a big kid when it came to her sons and her grandchildren, with a love for mischief that matched their own. She went out of her way to properly celebrate birthdays and holidays and was often absorbed by arts and crafts she would later gift to those in her life. Her house became a neighborhood meeting place, where she treated the friends of her children the same as her own. The door was always open for those in need.

Sheila faced a lot of health issues throughout her life but always maintained her positive spirit. She said she looked forward to replacing her worn-out body with a perfect one and reuniting with the two children she lost, but even in tougher times, believed she still had more to do. In her last days, she said she believed she was finally ready to move on.

The battle with kidney failure was the one that she couldn't win. To honor Sheila, we are asking for donations to The National Kidney Foundation in lieu of flowers or other items of remembrance.