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In memory of

John Joseph Sheeley

Kansas City, MO

January 25, 1942 - December 31, 2022

Jan 25, 1942 - Dec 31, 2022

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John Joseph Sheeley joined his parents Margaret and John A. Sheeley, brother William (Mick), sisters Elaine and Shelia, wife Sharon and son Michael (Mike) early morning of December 31st. He is survived by his sister Gwen, daughters Susan and Monica, grand-daughters Terra and Tesla, and great-grandsons Austin and Ryder.
He was a simple man, a product of his generation and family traditions. He was very proud to serve in the Armed Forces as a Boatswain's Mate Third Class in the US Coast Guard right after high school. He was stationed in Michigan and there he met his wife Sharon and had a set of twins (Mike & Susan). After his time was up in the service, he moved back to Kansas City where he was born and raised and added another daughter (Monica) to his family. He stayed close to his mother until she passed and had a pretty wild life in his early 20's. The stories he would tell....you could tell there was a hint of truth but never quite believed all of it. He lived a hard life, worked hard in blue color jobs, everything from foundry work, roofing houses, laying all types of flooring and much more. You could always find him helping someone out with something. He was good at thinking in reverse (a skill needed for cutting carpet), inventing things to make his job easier (items that are used to this day) and coming up with ideas to save the company money. His last job was as a general handyman for a non-profit taking care of all the repairs needed for several home. He would surprise the staff because he was so good with the clients....getting them to do things that no one thought they could. It made his day to bring them McDonalds and veggies from his garden. He loved working with his hands, he could pretty much fix anything. He was good with babies, animals and believe it or not was a pretty good gamer and would call up his sister to see what level she was in Zelda or Mario Brothers. More than anything he loved to sit on the shore of a pond or lake and fish.
The last 20 years of his life, no one saw much of him. He became a loner. He kept to himself, he would visit family if they came to see him, other residences in the senior apartments and finally the last few years in the skilled nursing homes. He was a handful, his dementia was getting the best of him, didn't want to be touched and would never stay in bed. There were times when his true personality would shine; telling outrageous stories, flirting and charming the female staff for extra sweets and his Coke Cola..."none of that diet stuff now". He wasn't the type of man to say I love you or I am sorry, but you could tell from the twinkle in his eye or when the dimples came out that he had won you over.
His last week, the staff found him down the long hallway, looking out the window. They had to go looking for him, they asked if he wanted to try to go to bed, and surprised them by saying yes he was tired, could they help him lift his legs. He didn't want anything to eat, and pretty much went to sleep. I was with him the first 38 hours, I told him I was going home to get a change of clothes and I would be back in 2 hours. It would be okay if he needed to take the rest of his journey alone, but I would be back to stay with him until the end. Somehow, someway that independent father of mine left this world not 5 minutes before I could get back. He gave the staff a little bit of a hard time...they could still feel his pulse and feel his warmth and couldn't quite tell if he had passed. He felt comfortable to leave this world with a fellow retired Navy chaplain who listened to his stories of his Skipper. I guess being a father in the end and not wanting me to witness his last breathe is a tribute to the kind of guy he was.
My dad did not want a fuss in the end, so we will have a simple mass in his name and no funeral service. He will be remembered.