Richard Sheridan, born in New York City on July 17, 1946, passed away on August 21, 2022, in his home off Live Oak Street in Dallas, Texas.

Rich was born to Paul Sheridan and Marion Gentile and raised in the New York City borough of The Bronx. As if his thick east coast accent was not enough of a giveaway, he proudly wore a cap which read “The Bronx” for nearly a quarter of his life, a badge of sorts announcing the area from which he was proud to hail. This was one of the many personal "props" which added to and defined his character, and which was bound to elicit a series of stories for those meeting Rich for the first time.

He grew up with his two siblings, older sister Marion and younger sister Gerry. While he struggled with the divorce of his parents, he eventually received a great gift in his stepfather Harry Baehr, who was a hardworking man of strong character and exceptional sense of humor, something Harry no doubt passed along to his stepson. Rich was a diligent student who excelled in academics and enjoyed choir, theater, and, of course, the New York Yankees. In fact, after idolizing Mickey Mantle as a kid, he later met the baseball great at the August Moon restaurant in Dallas and shared some of his childhood memories.

After graduating from Cardinal Spellman High school in 1964, he attended Manhattan College and earned a bachelor's in civil engineering followed by a master's in environmental engineering in 1970. Shortly after graduation, in 1971 he married Pamela Riccio. Thereafter, the pursuit of his career in environmental engineering – wastewater treatment specifically - took the couple from east coast to west coast; or, as he would like to joke, "I ran in the opposite direction of my mother-in-law (who they lived with at the time), and the only thing that stopped me was the Pacific Ocean."

During the years spent working with Hydroscience Engineers in the San Francisco Bay area, Rich realized some of the most profound success in his life. He was chosen among his peers back east to open the west coast office due to his engineering acumen as well as communication skills rare in those with a technical background. His creativity was allowed to take hold in the various projects he led, and some of the inter-office shenanigans – which he apparently also led - can be more fully understood to this day via the handwritten comic strips he created (even though the inside jokes are nearly indecipherable by anyone who didn’t work there).

But while in California, he had a hand in creating what he would, in his later years, consider his "greatest accomplishment”: his two boys. Michael Paul was born in 1977 in Berkeley, and Nicholas Scott was born three years later in Walnut Creek, CA. Not long after welcoming his second son into the world, he joined Celenese Corporation, this time moving the family to the Dallas/Ft. Worth area.

Anyone who knew Rich from an early age would note that he underwent some fundamental changes from the time he left New York to the time he arrived in Dallas. Speculation as to the reasons for this is futile at this time, but suffice it to say that, as everyone experiences at some point in his or her life, Rich faced significant challenges, perhaps the most profound of his life. How he dealt with these challenges was an abrupt pivot in focus to political and social issues, and it was these issues in which he devoted the majority of his time henceforth and in which he derived much of his identity and meaning.

Over the years, there were number of issues he took a stand on, at times taking a self-proclaimed "over the top" or "outrageous" approach of expression, with the philosophy "reaction equals change." While many did not agree with all his opinions, no one can deny he was unafraid of speaking up on what he believed in, and no cause was greater on his list of political agendas than addressing the issue of homelessness in Dallas.

In remembrance of Rich Sheridan and his efforts to help fight the battle against homelessness, we ask that donations be directed toward Our Calling, a local organization in which he had extensive involvement. Our Calling works tirelessly to clothe, educate, and feed the homeless, and it is charitable actions such as these which kept Rich going in his later years.

Throughout his life, Richard Sheridan was referred to in many ways. He was a son and a brother. He would go on to become a professional engineer and, in the words of his co-workers, and “enlightened” manager and leader. He would become a husband and a father and a grandfather, and it’s reasonable to say he considered himself a follower of the teachings of Christ. However, it’s highly likely that he would prefer to be known in perpetuity by the moniker affixed to him during his engagement with the local politics of Dallas: a gadfly. 

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