Phillip Sheridan Obituary

Sheridan
Phillip Michael
Sheridan
February 29, 1936
April 23, 2025

Phillip Michael Sheridan died of natural causes, surrounded by his family, on April 23, 2025, in Colorado Springs, Colorado. He was 89. Mike, as he was commonly known, was preceded in death by his wife of nearly 60 years, Joan Sheridan; his parents, George and Vivian Sheridan; stepsister, Melissa Clark, and stepbrother, John Metcalf. He is survived by his daughter, Kimberley, and her husband, Keith, and children Cooper, Mollie, and Brody; his son, Timothy, and his wife, Denise, and children Sam and Rachel; and his son, Sean, and his wife, Linette, and children Henry, Olivia, Margaret, and Evelyn. He is also survived by his sister, Sandra Sheridan Scovell Laney; his brother, Lynn Scott Sheridan; and his stepbrother, Clair William Clark. Mike was born on February 29, 1936, in Olympia, Washington, graduated from Clover Park High School in Tacoma in 1953, and attended the University of Washington. He was a member of the Beta Theta Pi fraternity and played football for several years before a knee injury forced him to stop. He had an ardent love of football for the rest of his life. In his senior year he was a reservation agent for United Airlines, and upon graduating in 1957 with a B.A. in Business Administration, he was hired as United's representative at Fort Lewis, Washington. In 1959 he became the Pan Am sales representative in San Francisco and Northern California. In 1961, Mike's growing faith led him to visit the Corinthians Sunday School class at First Presbyterian Church of Berkeley, where he met two people who would shape the rest of his life: W. Robert Stover, for whom he went to work at Stover's temporary help service, and Joan Lamping, whom he married. Over the next decade, Mike managed the agency's New York City office and led its European expansion. The couple started their family and became active local volunteers with Young Life. In 1971, Mike moved the family to Vancouver, Canada, where he became the property manager for Young Life's Malibu Club. It was an exciting and deeply meaningful time for the whole family, leaving a legacy of powerful memories and lifelong friendships. In 1978, the family moved to Colorado Springs for Mike to manage all of Young Life's properties, cementing a shared, lasting vision with Joan of creating beautiful places where kids could hear the life-changing message of Jesus Christ. In the late 1980s he left Young Life and was co-owner of Academy Fence Company. In 1992, Mike and Joan moved back to California, this time to revitalize the Mission Springs Camp and Conference Center in Scotts Valley. In 1995 they returned to Colorado Springs for a short but funfilled stint helping run IMS Productions before they retired, briefly. In 2001 they went to Princeton, British Columbia, to help build Young Life Canada's RockRidge Canyon, closing out a remarkable legacy of developing special places and people. Over the years, Mike became affectionately and best known as "Pop Pop." He was an avid antique collector and found great joy in being with his nine grandchildren, and he rarely missed their sporting events. He loved chocolate milkshakes, playing cards, working in his shop, and watching football games from his favorite chair. In his final months, Pop Pop lived at Aberdeen Ridge in Colorado Springs, where he had the short but life-affirming experience of finishing life well and being his best relational self—perhaps the most endearing version of "Mike" any of us ever knew. Pop Pop would want us to remember a few things: that working hard with your God-given skills is deeply spiritual; that we should not fret—at all; that fairness and honesty matter in all our dealings; and that gratitude is essential for everything God has given us. He will be deeply missed.