Joseph Gerald Shea (; September 20, 1919– August 4, 2005) was an American law enforcement official who was a special agent for the U.S.

Federal Bureau of Investigation The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, ...

(FBI).

Early life and education

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 Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

-born wife, Alice Mary. The family moved in with their paternal grandmother after his mother's death, when he was eight. Shea joined the

Army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

in 1942, after working at the Ritz Carlton Hotel and the

Boston Navy Yard The Boston Navy Yard, originally called the Charlestown Navy Yard and later Boston Naval Shipyard, was one of the oldest shipbuilding facilities in the United States Navy. It was established in 1801 as part of the recent establishment of t ...

. He served in the 36th Division as a First Sergeant. He joined troops being sent to

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...

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 it righted itself and the 15,000 troops aboard were safe. He served in

North Africa North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

, and

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. Following the war, Shea attended Boston College and majored in accounting.

Career

After graduation, he started working for the

, beginning as an identification clerk. In February 1951, he was appointed Special Agent. During his career, Shea worked in several offices, including

Louisville Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border. ...

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, and

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

. He worked on a number of notable cases, including the

Barbara Mackle kidnapping The 1968 kidnapping of Barbara Jane Mackle was the subject of an autobiographical book which was the basis of two television movies. Background Barbara Jane Mackle, aged 20 at the time of her kidnapping, was the daughter of Robert Mackle, a we ...

and the

Frank Abagnale Frank William Abagnale Jr. (; born April 27, 1948) is an American author and convicted felon. Abagnale targeted individuals and small businesses yet gained notoriety in the late 1970s by claiming a diverse range of victimless workplace frauds, m ...

case. He retired on December 31, 1977.

Personal life

Shea met and married Sarah Eugenia Blakeman while in

in May 1953 until her death in 2004. They had two daughters, Reva and Ruth. After his retirement, Shea moved to

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia ...

, where he and his wife lived on a farm and visited St. Thomas each winter. They returned to

Marietta, Georgia Marietta is a city in and the county seat of Cobb County, Georgia, United States. At the 2020 census, the city had a population of 60,972. The 2019 estimate was 60,867, making it one of Atlanta's largest suburbs. Marietta is the fourth larges ...

, to live in 1997. Shea was an avid golfer.

Death

Shea died in

on August 4, 2005, at 85 and was buried at Georgia Memorial Park Cemetery. He survived by his two daughters, nine grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

In popular culture

In the 2002 film ''

Catch Me If You Can ''Catch Me If You Can'' is a 2002 American Biographical film, biographical crime film, crime Comedy drama, comedy-drama film directed and produced by Steven Spielberg and starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Tom Hanks with Christopher Walken, Martin ...

'', fictional character Carl Hanratty, portrayed by

Tom Hanks Thomas Jeffrey Hanks (born July 9, 1956) is an American actor and filmmaker. Known for both his comedic and dramatic roles, he is one of the most popular and recognizable film stars worldwide, and is regarded as an American cultural icon. Ha ...

, is loosely based on the relationship that Shea had with

. According to Frank Abagnale, his deep friendship with Shea, as portrayed in the film, lasted 30 years until Shea's death.Archived a
Ghostarchive
and th
Wayback Machine
A stage musical based on Abagnale's story was produced on Broadway in 2011. Norbert Leo Butz played Hanratty and won the

Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical The Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical is awarded to the actor who was voted as the best actor in a musical play, whether a new production or a revival. The award has been given since 1948, but the nominees who did n ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shea, Joseph 1919 births 2005 deaths United States Army personnel of World War II American people of Irish descent Boston College alumni Burials in Georgia (U.S. state) Federal Bureau of Investigation agents Military personnel from Massachusetts People from Brookline, Massachusetts People from Marietta, Georgia Place of death missing