Dr. O’Shea died of liver cancer Dec. 3 in Mass. General, where she had spent much of a long career that included stints at Boston Medical Center and in Albany, N.Y. She was 74 and lived in Boston.
“She was very bright,’’ said Dr. Martin Mihm, a Boston dermatologist who was chief resident at Mass. General when Dr. O’Shea began training, and who worked with her throughout her career.
Dr. O’Shea, he said, treated a wide range of skin disorders, including melanoma, acne, psoriasis, and various diseases particular to the elderly.
“She was an extremely conscientious doctor, and had a wonderful way with patients, especially children and the elderly,’’ said Mihm.
At Mass. General, he added, Dr. Thomas Fitzpatrick became Dr. O’Shea’s mentor.
“He was one of the world’s leading dermatologists, and the chief dermatologist at Harvard Medical School,’’ Mihm said. “She was his special student, and he helped her a great deal.’’
Born in Boston, Dr. O’Shea was raised in Peabody. Her father was an entrepreneur who started a leather business and became a millionaire by the time he was 30. The family lived in a stately home that is considered a Peabody landmark.
Dr. O’Shea was valedictorian both at Nazareth Academy, a girls’ Catholic high school in Wakefield, and at Newton College of the Sacred Heart, which became part of Boston College in 1974.
In 1963, she graduated from medical school in Philadelphia and was a resident at St. Elizabeth’s Hospital in Brighton before completing her training at Mass. General.
“My aunt was a very loving person and a fantastic doctor,’’ said Mary Landergan, a niece of Dr. O’Shea. “She treated all her patients well, ranging from people who lived in the projects in Charlestown to the opera conductor Sarah Caldwell.’’
Dr. O’Shea was particularly close to her nieces and nephews, and often encouraged Landergan to visit her in Boston while Landergan was an undergraduate at Wellesley College.
