Donald Paul Sheeler crossed over peacefully at Westminster Point Pleasant in Bradenton, Florida, on Tuesday, April 7, 2026. He was 83 years old.

He was born on August 1, 1942, in Spring City, Pennsylvania. He was the third child and first son of seven children born to Paul and Nancy Sheeler. He graduated from Lancaster Mennonite School and he wrote the 1960 Class song. He then studied Music Education for two years at Eastern Mennonite University (Harrisonburg, VA) before transferring to Goshen College (Indiana) to finish his undergraduate degree. During summers he was on staff at Camp Menno Haven in Tiskilwa (Illinois), where he served in music and was a swim instructor and life guard. Don married his high school sweetheart Lorraine Murphy in 1963.

In 1966, Don and Lorraine went to Nigeria for three years as part of Mennonite Central Committee’s Teachers Abroad Program. In Nigeria, he met Moses Adeymi, a young orphaned teenager who was looking for work, and took him in as a household helper. In July of 1968, daughter Jill was born in Ogbomosho. Don, who saw Moses as a son, remained in contact with him after returning to the United States.

Don earned his Master of Music Education with certification in both choral and instrumental music from the University of Oregon (Eugene) in 1970. As part of the program, he spent two semesters in Europe with Lorraine and Jill. Soon after returning to the United States and finishing his degree, they settled in Williamsburg, Pennsylvania, where Don worked in the Williamsburg School District as a music teacher in both elementary and junior high schools. Son Todd was born in Altoona in September of 1970.

In 1973, the Sheelers moved to the west shore of the Harrisburg area, where they became very involved musically with Steelton Mennonite Church, which would be their faith community for 10 years. Don taught music for a year at Lemoyne Middle School, but his heart and gifts were with early childhood music education, so he began teaching in the Harrisburg School District at Downey and Benjamin Franklin elementary schools, using puppets to encourage children in echoing musical lines while engaging their imaginations, and providing resonator bells to assist with rhythm. Don also played the autoharp to accompany himself and others.

Don had many outlets for his love of singing and performing classical music. He sang tenor with the Harrisburg Chamber Singers, Susquehanna Chorale, and Lancaster-Franconia Choral Group. He also performed with Harrisburg Civic Opera Company, appearing in prominent roles in Don Giovanni (Mozart), Die Fledermaus (Strauss), The Impresario (Mozart), and Susannah (Floyd). His love of music saw him leading music programs for Mennonite retreats, regional events, and national conventions.

During this time, the family began performing musically together, primarily in churches, singing and playing their instruments: Don on autoharp, Lorraine on piano and flute, and Jill and Todd on violins. In 1979, the Sheelers joined the singers from the Lancaster-Franconia group that went to Poland and the former USSR (Ukraine and Moldova) for 3 weeks to sing, worship, and fellowship with Christians in their churches. The following year they made another trip to the USSR as musical ambassidors with a small group of Russian-Canadian Mennonites. That tour saw wider travel through Russia, from Saint Petersburg and Moscow to Novosibirsk in Siberia, as well as Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan.

In the early 1980s, Don learned that the now-grown Moses from Nigeria, who had married and had identical twin 2-year-old sons, wanted to come to the US to pursue his post-graduate education at Wheaton Theological Seminary. To help Moses achieve this goal, Don helped with logistics and mounted a successful fund-raising effort. The family of four moved to the Chicago area for 2 years, where Moses completed his master’s degree before returning to Nigeria.

In 1984, the Sheeler family moved to Lancaster, and Don was on staff at Neffsville Mennonite Church as Minister of Music. In Lancaster, he continued his stage performances with Fulton Opera Company, where he played the lead roles of Nanki-Poo in The Mikado (Gilbert & Sullivan) and Nemorino in The Elixir of Love (Donizetti). Don had a knack for comedic performance.

In 1987, the family moved again, from Pennsylvania to Sarasota, Florida, where Don served on the ministry team at Bayshore Mennonite Church. He continued his choral singing with Key Chorale and Choral Artists. It was with Key Chorale, under the direction of Dr. Daniel Moe, that he was encouraged to develop his natural high-register voice as a countertenor. The missing link he’d been searching for to strengthen his voice was found! This led to a more focused exploration of Early Music and Baroque period music, singing with local Baroque instrumentalists and traveling to summer Baroque Institutes in the US and Europe. He sang the countertenor role in Carmina Burana (Orff) with the Sarasota Orchestra, and was countertenor soloist with Musica Sacra Cantorum for Chichester Psalms (Bernstein), a difficult piece that earned him favorable review in the local newspaper. He also performed as a tenor and alto soloist numerous times over the years in Handel’s Messiah.

Following his time at Bay Shore Mennonite Church, Don joined Covenant Mennonite Fellowship, where he retained membership. He started a house painting business, and continued his musical artistry as paid soloist and alto section leader with numerous churches, including First Church (Methodist), St Boniface (Episcopal), Church of the Redeemer (Episcopal), First Presbyterian, St Michael the Archangel (Catholic), and Christ Episcopal in Bradenton. He was also a cantorial singer at Temple Emanu-El. In 1997, Don and Lorraine went their separate ways.

In the early 2000s, Don learned that Moses’ daughter Bunmi had a burning desire and dream to become a medical doctor. However, due to some issues and vices impacting the education system, the dream gradually became nearly impossible to attain. This backdrop prompted Don to assist in bringing Bunmi to the US so she could pursue her career aspirations. He raised funds with the help of his “Bunmi Boosters,” assisted her in applying and gaining admission to the University of South Florida in Tampa, and advocated for the necessary visa. His perseverance paid off and Bunmi set off on her own to Florida, where she lived with Don until she got settled in Tampa and began her studies at USF. Don remained in close contact with Bunmi, who calls him “Daddy,” and learned to know Babade, a childhood friend to whom she later got married and with whom she now has three children. Their son is named “Donald” after his American grandfather.

In 2015, Don learned he had non-Hodgkins lymphoma, and after treatment he remained cancer free until his death 11 years later. In 2017, he learned he had Parkinson’s Disease, and began the process of selling his home and moving to Westminster Point Pleasant in Bradenton, where he would have continuing care. The nursing staff in the Health Center loved him and enjoyed hearing about Nigeria and his past musical pursuits. We are grateful to the staff, and to Tidewell Hospice, for ensuring his comfort.

Don was preceded in death by his parents, his brother Ron, his sister Rosetta (Hoffman), and his adopted Nigerian son Moses. He is survived by his two children Jill (Sheeler-Shenk) and Todd, five grandchildren, two great-grandchildren, sisters Roberta (Horning) and Virginia (Morse), brothers Virgil and David, and Moses’ wife Gloria and their four children and grandchildren.

In the days leading up to his death, Don was visited daily by his children, his grandchildren, and Lorraine. He also met his second great grandson. The evening before he passed away, Bunmi’s family visited him for the last time. We believe his heart and soul were then at peace, and he passed away in his sleep the following morning.

In addition to music and stage performances, in his free time, Don was an avid runner, clocking at least 3 miles almost every day and ran many 5Ks. He enjoyed swimming, especially in seas with waves, and he took up ballroom dancing later in life. When he wasn’t working at something, he knew how to enjoy himself.

Don made a big impact in a quiet way on the world around him. He never sought attention or accolades. He had a deep faith and love for Jesus, a gentle spirit, a beautiful countertenor voice, a punny sense of humor, and strong values of pacifism and servanthood. He was much loved, and we are strengthened by the legacy of love he left behind that we endeavor to continue, and the thoughts of him being joyfully reunited with his departed family and Moses.

A Celebration of Life service will take place on Sunday May 24 at 4:00 pm at Covenant Mennonite Fellowship in Sarasota. Every Christmas, Don would present each of his grandchildren with a certificate for a donation he made to Heifer International in their honor. Therefore, it seems only natural that we ask that in lieu of flowers, you consider making a donation to Heifer International in his honor. It’s what he would want.  Donald P’s Legacy--https://fundraise.heifer.org/team/822551

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