Shef died Nov. 5, 2012, at his home in New London, N.H. He was 92.
He prepared at Canterbury School in New Milford, Conn. At Princeton he majored in art and archaeology and graduated with honors.
After winning numerals for freshman swimming, he won varsity-swimming letters the next three years. He was a member of the Catholic Club and joined Quadrangle. He roomed variously with Rooth, Bell, Kip, Bergland, Buenger, Moses, Cox, O’Brien, and Pettit.
During World War II, Shef was commander of a submarine chaser in the Pacific. His career was in the brokerage business, working for Shearson Hammill while living in Irvington-on-Hudson and later Ossining, N.Y. He also had a home in Sea Island, Ga.
Shef retired to New Hampshire in 1977 but served on the board of advisers of New Hampshire Thrift Bancshares. He was a very generous benefactor for a number of institutions.
Shef was predeceased by his first wife, Louise Purse Gale, to whom he was married for 44 years. He is survived by his wife, Virginia Noonan Halsey; two daughters, Sharon and Katherine; four sons, Sheffield Jr., Stephen, Schuyler, and Michael; 13 grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren.