Andover - Sheila Geary LaMontagne died peacefully of natural causes in her sleep on her 91st birthday, January 27th, in Dover, NH, surrounded by family. She lived in Andover for 60 years.

Born in Boston and raised in Wellesley, MA, Sheila was a scholarship student at Wellesley College and received a master's in education from Northeastern University. For over 30 years, she taught in the Andover public schools, first as a reading specialist, where she developed award-winning literacy curricula before returning to the classroom at South Elementary and Doherty Middle School. Beloved and sometimes feared by her students, she had an indelible impact on generations of Andover children. Sheila was married to Joseph Alfred LaMontagne for 56 years before his passing in 2015. They made homes in Andover as well as Provincetown, MA, and Corinth, VT. She is survived by her four children: Abigail and her partner Gordon, Jessica and her husband Douglas Dodd, Michael and his partner Josephine Park, and Russell and his wife Eva Derba LaMontagne, as well as eight grandchildren: Rachel, Esther, Michael, Katie, Jethro, Farrah, Dahlia, and Opal.

A funeral mass will be held at St. Augustine's Catholic Church in Andover at 12 p.m. on Saturday, February 7th.

In Lieu of flowers, donations in Sheila's honor can be made to the Provincetown Public Art Foundation, www.provincetownpublicart.org.