1970
Mr.
2016
Mr. David Sheridan
February 20, 1970 — January 22, 2016
David Thomas Sheridan, 45, of Lee’s Summit, Missouri, passed away Friday, January 22, 2016. A visitation will be held from 9-11:30 A.M. Saturday, January 30, 2016, at Woods Chapel United Methodist Church at 4725 NE Lakewood Way, Lee’s Summit, MO 64064 with a funeral service to celebrate his life following at 12 P.M.
In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to “Will and Henry’s Education Fund” at www.gofundme.com.
Dave was born February 20, 1970, in Kansas City, Missouri, to Tom and Mariecelene (Gibbs) Sheridan, followed two years later by his sister Lisa. The role of son and brother was one he reveled in and continued to develop throughout his life. From the beginning, Dave’s passion for life and knack for living it to the fullest was clear, no matter what role he took on. Dave was an active member of Colonial Presbyterian Church and Boy Scouts of America, earning his Eagle Scout Award at sixteen. He graduated from Hickman Mills High School in 1988 after spending a busy four years lettering in varsity track and cross country, participating on the debate team and in Quill and Scroll, performing in school plays, working as co-editor of the newspaper The Criterion, serving as vice-president of his senior class, and inevitably being voted Class Clown. Many of his friendships from childhood and high school continued until the day he died.
The next stage in his life took him to the University of Missouri where, unsurprisingly, he embraced the role of Mizzou Tiger to the fullest. He was a reporter for the Maneater student newspaper, was a Resident Assistant and later served as president of the Residence Hall Association, and was a member of the executive council for Mizzou student government, the Missouri Students Association. One of his fondest memories of college was the summer he spent as a Summer Welcome leader on campus. As a junior, he was honored to be tapped into Mystical 7 Honorary, one of the seven students chosen for their “good deeds, selfless leadership, and service to the campus and community.” Always dedicated to service to others, he participated in an alternative spring break program at the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation in 1991. Even with all of his activities, he excelled academically and earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in English, graduating in May of 1992. In all of these roles on campus, his most fulfilling was that of friend. He treasured developing those friendships, and he made such an impact on everyone whose path he crossed.
Not eager to leave Columbia, he earned his Master of Arts degree in Communication in 1994, taking on the roles of writer, producer, director, and actor in a campus TV show called MizZOO TV. He also continued his campus leadership as a Graduate Assistant to Missouri Students Association and helped book the big acts that performed at Hearnes’ Center. His claim to fame was getting to drive the Indigo Girls musical duo from the airport and around Columbia.
His first official job after Mizzou was with an event planning company while he continued to pursue his own writing. In 1996 he met Cathy Mader on a cold and snowy January night at a Bent Scepters’ show at The Hurricane in Westport, and twenty years later this month he still had the napkin on which she wrote her name and phone number. Three years later they were married on June 19, 1999. In the role of husband, there was no one better. No one loved better; no one was loved more. They were best friends from their first date, and this friendship was his most valuable and treasured one.
Inspired by Cathy’s love of teaching English, he soon pursued his Bachelor of Arts degree in Secondary Education from UMKC in 2001. The role of teacher fit him well, not just because he loved the subject matter, but also because he was an expert at developing relationships with people, including his students. He student-taught and was later hired at Blue Springs South High School, teaching English and then Social Studies, where he spent his entire career, teaching alongside some of his best friends and, as of 2011, even his wife.
In 2001 Dave and Cathy welcomed their first son, William Charles, into their loving family. Two years later, Henry Thomas completed it. No role Dave ever played in his life gave him as much joy as that of father. He was an actively involved parent from the first diaper change through coaching soccer for both of the boys as recently as this year. A proud family man, Dave was a master at the art of family entertainment, planning countless outings and activities over the years: Sporting KC and Chiefs’ games, boys-only fishing trips, art exhibits, Mizzou games, concerts, trying out new restaurants, and many more. He loved to share the things that he loved with the people that he loved the most---Cathy, Will, and Henry. He also regularly planned special romantic trips with Cathy, the most recent being a future trip to St. Louis this coming summer to see the Avett Brothers and stay in a quaint bed and breakfast hotel to celebrate their 17th anniversary. So many events and activities will be less fun and interesting without Dave.
Those closest to Dave knew of his love for writing. He completed the UMKC Writing Project in 2009 and was involved afterward mentoring new members and presenting to other teachers. His passion for writing during his life included editorials, articles, poetry, screenplays, and epic and often inappropriate posts on his friends’ fantasy hockey message board. According to a friend, “Posting on the message board was all about talking trash and making people laugh. Nobody did it better [than Dave].”
Another role that Dave enjoyed was that of soccer coach. For many years he helped coach his sons’ Futura youth teams, and he also enjoyed being part of the coaching staff at Blue Springs South where he was the JV boys’ coach and the assistant varsity girls’ coach. Dave coached with encouragement and enthusiasm and believed in the potential of every player, on and off the field. His relationships with his fellow coaches and many seasons of players were some of the most cherished in his life. He maintained connections with many of these past players for years after their graduations.
The most difficult of roles Dave played in his life was that of cancer patient. Diagnosed on his 45th birthday with Chronic Myelomonocytic Leukemia (CMML), he began the most challenging period in his life. But even through the immense struggle, Dave always recognized the many blessings he had been given. The first and most important one was when his sister Lisa matched as his stem cell donor. Dave underwent a stem cell transplant on April 3, 2015, at the University of Kansas Medical Center. From the beginning of his treatment, the nurses and doctors both at the Bone Marrow Transplant Unit and at the Westwood Cancer Center treated him for his cancer and recovery but also treated him as a person and cared so well for Cathy, too. Dave and Cathy believed that the marvelous care, support, and love he received from the dedicated doctors and nurses there gave them the blessing of 294 more days together. His family will also be forever grateful for the blessings from the KU Medical Center staff who tried so hard to save his life at its end and who cared for his entire family as well as for him.
The blessings within those 294 days are countless. They were as small as a short walk outside, getting to watch his boys’ soccer games, or being able to eat in a restaurant again. They were as significant as attending a Wilco concert at Crossroads on his 100th day post-transplant, seeing the new Star Wars movie three times, volunteering with his family at Children’s Mercy Hospital, and spending one last Christmas together with his family. They were as monumental as being able to return to Blue Springs South to teach again at a place that has been his family for fifteen years and to have the privilege to coach his freshman son Will on the soccer field this past fall. But perhaps the biggest blessing he received is one that few are able to ever experience: He received the gift of truly knowing how much he was loved, how much his school and community reached out to help him, how supported he was by his students and players, and how he had touched the lives of so many with all of the roles that he played in theirs. He never doubted his blessings.
Dave lived life to its fullest in the many different roles he played and made so many friends along the way; he died peacefully surrounded by his loved ones and will be painfully missed.
As Dave once wrote in a poem entitled “Nighty Night,”
“…and the pulse slows to a gentle throb
cool white sheets flap on piano wire clotheslines
signaling our surrender to the night.”
Dave is survived by his wife Cathy (Mader) and sons Will and Henry, parents Tom and Mariecelene Sheridan, sister Lisa (Sheridan) Miller and family, and many of Cathy’s family who also loved him dearly. He is also survived by fellow Star Wars collectors, Record Bar goers, KC sports fanatics, Quik Trip lovers, Adidas wearers, man-bag carriers, vinyl spinners, Chuck Taylor collectors, local music supporters, and cycling-dorks.
In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to “Will and Henry’s Education Fund” at www.gofundme.com.
Dave was born February 20, 1970, in Kansas City, Missouri, to Tom and Mariecelene (Gibbs) Sheridan, followed two years later by his sister Lisa. The role of son and brother was one he reveled in and continued to develop throughout his life. From the beginning, Dave’s passion for life and knack for living it to the fullest was clear, no matter what role he took on. Dave was an active member of Colonial Presbyterian Church and Boy Scouts of America, earning his Eagle Scout Award at sixteen. He graduated from Hickman Mills High School in 1988 after spending a busy four years lettering in varsity track and cross country, participating on the debate team and in Quill and Scroll, performing in school plays, working as co-editor of the newspaper The Criterion, serving as vice-president of his senior class, and inevitably being voted Class Clown. Many of his friendships from childhood and high school continued until the day he died.
The next stage in his life took him to the University of Missouri where, unsurprisingly, he embraced the role of Mizzou Tiger to the fullest. He was a reporter for the Maneater student newspaper, was a Resident Assistant and later served as president of the Residence Hall Association, and was a member of the executive council for Mizzou student government, the Missouri Students Association. One of his fondest memories of college was the summer he spent as a Summer Welcome leader on campus. As a junior, he was honored to be tapped into Mystical 7 Honorary, one of the seven students chosen for their “good deeds, selfless leadership, and service to the campus and community.” Always dedicated to service to others, he participated in an alternative spring break program at the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation in 1991. Even with all of his activities, he excelled academically and earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in English, graduating in May of 1992. In all of these roles on campus, his most fulfilling was that of friend. He treasured developing those friendships, and he made such an impact on everyone whose path he crossed.
Not eager to leave Columbia, he earned his Master of Arts degree in Communication in 1994, taking on the roles of writer, producer, director, and actor in a campus TV show called MizZOO TV. He also continued his campus leadership as a Graduate Assistant to Missouri Students Association and helped book the big acts that performed at Hearnes’ Center. His claim to fame was getting to drive the Indigo Girls musical duo from the airport and around Columbia.
His first official job after Mizzou was with an event planning company while he continued to pursue his own writing. In 1996 he met Cathy Mader on a cold and snowy January night at a Bent Scepters’ show at The Hurricane in Westport, and twenty years later this month he still had the napkin on which she wrote her name and phone number. Three years later they were married on June 19, 1999. In the role of husband, there was no one better. No one loved better; no one was loved more. They were best friends from their first date, and this friendship was his most valuable and treasured one.
Inspired by Cathy’s love of teaching English, he soon pursued his Bachelor of Arts degree in Secondary Education from UMKC in 2001. The role of teacher fit him well, not just because he loved the subject matter, but also because he was an expert at developing relationships with people, including his students. He student-taught and was later hired at Blue Springs South High School, teaching English and then Social Studies, where he spent his entire career, teaching alongside some of his best friends and, as of 2011, even his wife.
In 2001 Dave and Cathy welcomed their first son, William Charles, into their loving family. Two years later, Henry Thomas completed it. No role Dave ever played in his life gave him as much joy as that of father. He was an actively involved parent from the first diaper change through coaching soccer for both of the boys as recently as this year. A proud family man, Dave was a master at the art of family entertainment, planning countless outings and activities over the years: Sporting KC and Chiefs’ games, boys-only fishing trips, art exhibits, Mizzou games, concerts, trying out new restaurants, and many more. He loved to share the things that he loved with the people that he loved the most---Cathy, Will, and Henry. He also regularly planned special romantic trips with Cathy, the most recent being a future trip to St. Louis this coming summer to see the Avett Brothers and stay in a quaint bed and breakfast hotel to celebrate their 17th anniversary. So many events and activities will be less fun and interesting without Dave.
Those closest to Dave knew of his love for writing. He completed the UMKC Writing Project in 2009 and was involved afterward mentoring new members and presenting to other teachers. His passion for writing during his life included editorials, articles, poetry, screenplays, and epic and often inappropriate posts on his friends’ fantasy hockey message board. According to a friend, “Posting on the message board was all about talking trash and making people laugh. Nobody did it better [than Dave].”
Another role that Dave enjoyed was that of soccer coach. For many years he helped coach his sons’ Futura youth teams, and he also enjoyed being part of the coaching staff at Blue Springs South where he was the JV boys’ coach and the assistant varsity girls’ coach. Dave coached with encouragement and enthusiasm and believed in the potential of every player, on and off the field. His relationships with his fellow coaches and many seasons of players were some of the most cherished in his life. He maintained connections with many of these past players for years after their graduations.
The most difficult of roles Dave played in his life was that of cancer patient. Diagnosed on his 45th birthday with Chronic Myelomonocytic Leukemia (CMML), he began the most challenging period in his life. But even through the immense struggle, Dave always recognized the many blessings he had been given. The first and most important one was when his sister Lisa matched as his stem cell donor. Dave underwent a stem cell transplant on April 3, 2015, at the University of Kansas Medical Center. From the beginning of his treatment, the nurses and doctors both at the Bone Marrow Transplant Unit and at the Westwood Cancer Center treated him for his cancer and recovery but also treated him as a person and cared so well for Cathy, too. Dave and Cathy believed that the marvelous care, support, and love he received from the dedicated doctors and nurses there gave them the blessing of 294 more days together. His family will also be forever grateful for the blessings from the KU Medical Center staff who tried so hard to save his life at its end and who cared for his entire family as well as for him.
The blessings within those 294 days are countless. They were as small as a short walk outside, getting to watch his boys’ soccer games, or being able to eat in a restaurant again. They were as significant as attending a Wilco concert at Crossroads on his 100th day post-transplant, seeing the new Star Wars movie three times, volunteering with his family at Children’s Mercy Hospital, and spending one last Christmas together with his family. They were as monumental as being able to return to Blue Springs South to teach again at a place that has been his family for fifteen years and to have the privilege to coach his freshman son Will on the soccer field this past fall. But perhaps the biggest blessing he received is one that few are able to ever experience: He received the gift of truly knowing how much he was loved, how much his school and community reached out to help him, how supported he was by his students and players, and how he had touched the lives of so many with all of the roles that he played in theirs. He never doubted his blessings.
Dave lived life to its fullest in the many different roles he played and made so many friends along the way; he died peacefully surrounded by his loved ones and will be painfully missed.
As Dave once wrote in a poem entitled “Nighty Night,”
“…and the pulse slows to a gentle throb
cool white sheets flap on piano wire clotheslines
signaling our surrender to the night.”
Dave is survived by his wife Cathy (Mader) and sons Will and Henry, parents Tom and Mariecelene Sheridan, sister Lisa (Sheridan) Miller and family, and many of Cathy’s family who also loved him dearly. He is also survived by fellow Star Wars collectors, Record Bar goers, KC sports fanatics, Quik Trip lovers, Adidas wearers, man-bag carriers, vinyl spinners, Chuck Taylor collectors, local music supporters, and cycling-dorks.
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