There is grit and grace and generosity in Sheila Eaglesome. Though there is the placid and controlled Sheila who crochets, reads and paints ceramics at home, it is the no-nonsense, pragmatic Sheila who prevails at Quick Solutions Printing.
Sheila Eaglesome is a special, some would say fascinating, woman. She owns a successful business, Quick Solutions copy firm, and is well-situated amid downtown Jamestown. She is a confident and capable woman who belies a gentle first impression and you get the feeling that there is a little steel magnolia under the efficient and business-like exterior; there's a sense of worldliness and knowledge of what life's all about, based on experience and learning a few things the hard way.
In 1983, when she and Bob Eaglesome and their two children decided to move from Virginia to Jamestown to establish the Kwik Kopy Printing firm, it was a leap of faith into unchartered territory.
''We burned all our bridges in Washington, D.C., and put everything we had on the line,'' Mrs. Eaglesome said.
Returning to hometown Jamestown was attractive to Sheila, who was a Jamestown High School graduate and part of the Ross and Josephine Spoto family. Coming home seemed not such a bad idea.
Sheila, with an accounting degree and Bob, recently retired from government service, did embark on a serious business effort, with a Kwik Kopy franchise they had recently acquired. Sheila was co-founder and president. When the franchise expired after 25 years, and they moved the printing operation from East Third Street to West Third Street and renamed it Quick Solutions, they have been there since, and are well-known throughout the area.
Marriage in 1963 to Bob Eaglesome was an adventure, she says while becoming a widow in 1999 was a tragedy like no other. An incurable cancer took her husband in five months and learning all about life alone, with her two daughters, was another new step. She credits her recovery from Bob's death to her immediate family, her Quick Solutions family and her church family, of St. Luke's Episcopal. Again, it's all about learning to survive. Melissa and Michelle continue to support Sheila, working with her at the business. Melissa is the general manager and Michelle is credit manager. Both girls have worked under the ideas espoused by their mother that if you believe in yourself and work hard, you can do anything.
Sheila herself holds firmly to the idea that if you've been blessed, you need to give back. This she fulfills with her myriad involvements, such as American Cancer Society (board of directors), W.C.A. Foundation (board of directors), and has served on boards for WCA Hospital, WCA Services and the Jamestown Audubon Society. She has also served on a scholarships and grants committee for Chautauqua Region Community Foundation.
A very personal and critical concern for Sheila is the impact of auto-immune disease, on the individual and the individual's family. She explains it as if you have an auto-immune disease, your immune system attacks itself by mistake, and you can get sick. Multiple sclerosis, psoriasis, lupus, scleroderma and Raynaud's disease are all forms of auto-immune diseases. To help with auto-immune diseases, Sheila created the Eaglesome Family Fund, an endowed fund. The purpose of the fund is to provide an annual stream of income to support the purchase of equipment and to train staff in diagnosing and treating auto-immune diseases. She hopes that others will join her in supporting this fund, by sending donations to the Eaglesome Fund, at WCA or any area of need for which they are passionate.
