Obituaries
Serving Our Community Since 1951
1
tree
planted in memory of Edith Mae Sheridan
Obituary for Edith Mae Sheridan
Edith Mae Sheridan, our magnificently wonderful Aunt Edie passed away on February 8, 2022. She was an enviable 93 years old yet gone far too soon. She left this life quietly and peacefully, surrounded by family holding her hand and kissing her forehead, doing their best to reflect back the immense love she constantly radiated to all.
Edith Mae was born in 1928 to William Alvin and Edith Marion Sheridan in the waning months of the Calvin “Cool” Coolidge administration. In those days only two-thirds of homes in the U.S. had electricity. These days we’re talking about something called the Metaverse. During the noisy kerfuffle between, a quiet yet remarkable life was taking place.
Edith Mae was not a titan of industry or wildly famous. She was not fabulously wealthy nor was she a powerful politician. She was something more, something far greater. She was Aunt Edie.
Kind, compassionate, and loving to a fault, Aunt Edie was known to provide nieces and nephews with far, far too much ice cream. She may also have been the single most tolerant patroness of elaborate blanket forts to have ever walked this planet. Would that we all had such faults.
If you were lucky enough to join Aunt Edie on an errand to Bradlees, you were nearly certain to come away with some kind of toy, comic book, or treat. Treasures, all. Actually, whenever Aunt Edie visited, you were guaranteed some lovely little trinket, no matter how small. Lemonade for the children? Yes please.
Always the innovator, it is entirely possible she pioneered the use of shaving cream as a signature bath time play experience. Disney clearly missed their chance to monetize her creative expansion of Winnie the Pooh tales, even if she did doze off in the telling.
Her room was your room. When Aunt Edie was gone, children would stare out of the window of that room counting the endless minutes until she returned. When she came back, life and activity came back with her. That, and a goody of some kind. In short, Aunt Edie doted on those she loved, who could do no wrong in her eyes.
A delightful primp and preener, Aunt Edie never left the house without meticulously manicured nails, full make-up, Charlie perfume, and (it goes without saying) perfectly styled hair. This routine persisted all the way into her 90s.
She long worked at the Shick corporation as an inspector, retiring in the late 1980s to care for her mother. She drove a boss Mercury Comet. She adored flowers of all kinds. Purple was her favorite color. And what a smile.
Aunt Edie graduated from Stratford High School. Though she never attended college, she was a lifelong reader, possessed a keen intelligence, and could converse widely on politics, current events, and celebrity malfeasance for hours. Though she received a proposal she never did marry. It’s rumored the gentleman went on to become an oil tycoon. But we regard the poor chap as deeply, deeply unlucky.
Aunt Edie was the glue of the Sheridan family for decades. If you’ve ever attended an elaborate holiday meal at 368 Jackson Avenue you know the meaning of family, bounty, and fellowship. This was all largely driven by Aunt Edie’s tireless preparation. Friends and relatives on the Connecticut coast will be talking about her legendary potato salad for ages.
Aunt Edie always put others before herself. This is no empty eulogistic platitude or exaggeration. She helped anyone and everyone no matter who they were, no matter what situation they were in. When asked to describe her, most people reflexively say she was the most caring person they’d ever met.
It’s fair to say she lived Matthew 25:34-40. Look it up. She gave food to those who needed it, visited and cared for the sick, comforted those who were alone, babysat generations of children, was a friend to everyone she met, and lent an ever-listening ear to others. Would that we all had such virtues.
Aunt Edie lovingly nursed her ailing father William through terminal illness. Then surpassed that by offering years upon years of 24/7 care to her mother Edith Marion, all at home, comforting her until her very last breath. She loved her mom and dad.
She was sweet to everyone, this recently included her ICU nurse at St. Mary’s, who now has had the distinct joy of hearing Aunt Edie say, “Honey, you’re so pretty.” It was an entirely typical, beautiful moment.
If you interacted with Aunt Edie you remembered her for the rest of your life. Just ask health care workers from 30-40 years ago who became life-long friends, the physical therapists who worked with her for a few short weeks and corresponded from then onward, or even the friends of friends who only interacted with her briefly yet still ask about her to this day. All true.
Even when practical labor was no longer possible, the endless outpouring of love continued. And that’s the thing. If you had the distinct honor of knowing Aunt Edie, you simply knew she loved you.
Aunt Edie arrived during the Jazz era and lived through the big band era, beatlemania, punk, disco, new wave, hair metal, grunge, rap, and whatever the kids are listening to today. She was one of 8 Sheridan siblings and was pre-deceased by Billy, Marion, Harold, Bobby, Johnny, and Lillian. She also outlived cassette tapes, VCRs, and the Cold War.
She is survived by her younger sister Valerie Schuster with whom she lived these past twenty-something years in Waterbury. There she attended Christ Church Fellowship and built, you guessed it, deep abiding relationships. She visited her beloved Stratford and dear friends there as much as she could. She never failed to thank God for everything, all the time. Again, not an exaggeration.
Aunt Edie is also survived by too many nieces and nephews to count or name here. They were all individually and immensely precious to her. For some, she was a second mother, the sort of debt one can never repay. All will remain profoundly grateful she was a part of their lives until the end of their days.
The great registries of time won’t record Aunt Edie’s unpretentious, ordinary life as historically consequential. Though I wouldn’t try saying that to the people whose lives she touched. George Elliot put it best in Middlemarch,
“…The effect of her being on those around her was incalculably diffusive: for the growing good of the world is partly dependent on unhistoric acts; and that things are not so ill with you and me as they might have been, is half owing to the number who lived faithfully a hidden life.”
Elliot got it mostly right. It’s way more than half-owing when it comes to Aunt Edie. 93 years is far too short a time to have been graced by this effusively loving, luminous woman.
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Calling Hours and Services
Calling hours for our dear Aunt Edie will be held on Monday, February 14th from 10 a.m. – 12 p.m. at William R. McDonald Funeral Home at 2591 Main Street in Stratford, Connecticut (where generations of Sheridans and their kin have been honored). After a brief service at noon, a procession will bring Aunt Edie to Lakeview Cemetery in Bridgeport. There she will join her beloved mother and father in rest. We can think of no better day than to celebrate Aunt Edie than Valentine’s Day.
Flowers
Did we mention Aunt Edie loved flowers? To send some, please visit the Tribute Store.
Donations
If you’d like to make a donation in Aunt Edie’s memory, please give to Christ Church Fellowship, Her beloved church home, https://atchristchurch.com/take-action
Share Memories
Please offer a message in honor and memory of Aunt Edie on facebook or The Tribute wall. It will make us all feel closer to her, please visit www.wrmcdonaldfuneralhome.com.
To plant a tree in memory of Edith Mae Sheridan, visit the
Tribute Store.
Previous Events
Visitation
Monday
14
Feb
10:00 AM
- 12:00 PM
William R. McDonald Funeral Home
2591 Main Street
Stratford, CT 06615
Service
Monday
14
Feb
12:00 PM
William R. McDonald Funeral Home
2591 Main Street
Stratford, CT 06615
Interment
Monday
14
Feb
1:00 PM
Lakeview Cemetery
885 Boston Ave
Bridgeport, CT 06610
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