James Martin Sheridan

1940 - 2015

James "Jimmy" Martin Sheridan of East Hartford, CT, left this earth on August 16, 2015 from complications during his recovery from heart surgery. He was born on May 17, 1940 at St. Francis Hospital, Hartford, the eldest son of James Luke and Teresa Dorothy (Shea) Sheridan, and lived nearby for his early years when he attended St. Joseph's Elementary School. In 1950 the family moved to their new home in East Hartford. He graduated from East Hartford High School in 1958 and the Hartford Institute of Accounting, now Hillard College, in 1960. In 1964, Jimmy entered the Army, being stationed at Fort Bragg in North Carolina for two years.
As an accountant, Jimmy worked at several places before being hired at Hamilton Standard in Windsor, where he worked for 25 years and from which he retired as Paymaster to care for his aging family members. He maintained strong friendships with his Hamilton friends, remembering fondly the fun he had with his bowling team, and, more recently, organizing monthly retiree luncheons. He kept in touch with his oldest friends from his high school days and had planned to attend his 57-year class reunion this fall.
Jimmy had several passions. He was a world traveler, having traveled extensively in Europe, the former Soviet Union, Asia, South America, and the United States. In 2015 alone he enjoyed a cruise from the West Coast to East Coast through the Panama Canal, and had recently returned from a trans-Atlantic European Cruise. He particularly loved Switzerland and Alaska, returning to both places several times. Jimmy also loved to write, recounting the memories of all his adventures. A beloved hobby of his was writing "The Daily Planet," which was his email blog of how he was spending his days in retirement, keeping everyone up-to-date on family events, his latest travels, current events, and play-by-play retellings of the UCONN Huskies basketball games. Jimmy was also the family genealogist.
Mostly, Jimmy loved his family and cherished his many friends. He leaves his brother Bernard "Bernie" Sheridan and his wife Ruth, who lived next door and were constant companions for weekend breakfasts. He also leaves his twin sisters and their husbands, Margaret and Alan Stewart of Portland, CT and Mary and Frederick Lotze of Fitchburg, MA. In addition to his siblings, he leaves a very close family: cousins Rose Tyaack of Middletown, Eileen Roberts of Newington, and Bobby Shea of Maine; three nieces, Laura (Sheridan) Perrino and her husband Michael, Rosanne Sheridan and her husband Douglas Sisko, and Christine Stewart; and two nephews, Brian Sheridan and Scott Stewart. He leaves three grand-nieces and one grand-nephew, Madeline, Maria, and Francis Perrino. He also leaves his oldest and special friends, Ray Lanier of New Hampshire and Thorney Young of Massachusetts.
A Liturgy of Christian Burial will be held on Saturday, August 22, 2015 at 10AM in St. Mary Church, 15 Maplewood Ave. East Hartford, followed by burial in Mt. St. Benedict Cemetery, Bloomfield. A visiting hour will precede the service from 8:30-9:30AM at the Benjamin J. Callahan Funeral Home, 318 Burnside Avenue, East Hartford. Memorial contributions may be made to the charity of one's choice.