Drinking With God

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On death and dying - Obituary

 

Daniel J “Dan” Sheehan

August 16, 1944 – March 16, 2008

Dan Sheehan passed away, after a long battle with cancer, on March 16, 2008. Dan was 64 years old.

He was born in Chicago in 1944, earned an undergraduate degree in Psychology from Quincy College, in Quincy, Illinois then went on to earn a Masters Degree in Clinical Psychology from the University of Tulsa.

Dan began a successful career as a Clinical Psychologist in Denver, Colorado. In 1975 he was hired as the Director of the Columbia River Mental Health (now Elehan) and he and his wife Mary Ann moved to Vancouver.

In the early 1990’s, Dan opened  Sheehan and Associates and began a second successful career as a Business Consultant. Later he became President and owner of Emerald Leaf U.S, a highly successful international company that licenses patented fruit varieties worldwide.

Dan loved to travel and traveled extensively for both business and pleasure. In recent years, he traveled to Australia, Chile, Singapore, France and South Africa, among others. He made many international friends in his travels, as he always showed a genuine interest in the local people, their customs and history. Dan especially loved to explore the food and wine indigenous to the countries he visited.

A great outdoorsman, Dan had a wide variety of outdoor activities that he enjoyed over the years. He loved nothing better than an early morning hike in the Columbia Gorge or setting off on an ambitious backpacking trip through the Sisters Wilderness with Mary Ann and their friend Mitch Bower. He was an avid fisherman, too. Stalking wily trout in a cold mountain stream with nothing but a fly was his passion.

But the list goes on. He was an active birder with an impressive 753

sightings on his Birders Life List. Dan also loved wild flowers and mushrooming and had an extensive knowledge of different varieties and where they could be found. He hosted an annual gathering at Hemlock Lake where scores of people would come to hunt Chantrelle mushrooms, enjoy gourmet food and wine and share poetry.

He loved wine and had an impressive collection that he often shared with his many friends. And, he loved poetry and could recite many of his favorite poems by heart. But most of all, Dan loved people. All kinds of people. He always showed a genuine interest in anyone he was talking with and he had an amazing ability to make each person feel important. As a result, Dan leaves behind scores of people who considered him a “close friend.”

Dan Sheehan is survived by his loving wife of  41 years, Mary Ann and their son, Lucas, Portland, Ore; mother, Myra Sheehan, Morro Bay, Ca; brothers Martin Sheehan, Eugene, Ore, Timothy Sheehan, Porterville, Ca and Peter Sheehan,  Morro Bay, Ca; sister Myra Sheehan, Reno, NV. Dan was preceded in death by father, Dan Sheehan and brother, Jack Sheehan.

The family requests that, in lieu of flowers, a donation be made to one of Dan’s favorite charities: The Nature Conservancy or the Audubon Society.

Please sign the guest book at: www. Columbian.com/obituaries

On death and dying - part2 cont.

The day after.  Today is melancholy, I awoke at about 9 this morning and without much choice my body put me back to sleep until 2 this afternoon.  Apparently I needed some rest, there have been many sleepless nights recently and depression always calls for sleep.  The frog is back in my throat, I feel on the verge of tears at every turn.  My mother and I talked about today and the next few days to come, these will be the hardest she said.  The constant orbit of friends and family is subsiding.  These alone times, when reflection starts, are when we start to heal.  I think I will start Part 3 tomorrow.  I will dive into why he died, the problems his body encountered and what happened over the last few months leading up to death.   I can only focus on the  emotional  reaction for so long without effecting my own recovery in a negative way.  We'll get back to it later, when I quite getting my keyboard wet.  :-)

To be continued....

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On death and dying - part2 cont.

My father passed away this morning.  My Mother and I were at his bedside when it occurred, pulse slowing, respiration strained and infrequent and then silence.  Everything quieted, it wasn't a physical disconnect on our parts from our environment blocking out the ambient but almost as if somehow the moment effected the physical environment itself, changing it, turning it down.  Friends and family have poured in, food and wine are plentifully.  The initial shock is over, the first tears have been spilt.  The crowd is now calling for toasts and reserved joy in memories of past adventures. 

to be continued...

On death and dying - part2

My father is dying.  Not in the human condition sense but right now.  Its likely he will be gone within the day but nothing is known for sure.  Over the next few days, I'm going to take the opportunity to share some thoughts and experiences on going through the process of death and dying from the perspective of a Son, Friend, and outside observer.  In the meantime as you can see from the previous posts, I am going to take pictures of flowers.  It just seems good.

Love ya all,

Lucas

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On death and dying - part 1

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