Obituary of Timothy P. Sheldon

Timothy Paul Sheldon, a devoted family man and avid athlete, passed away suddenly on Tuesday morning, February 10, 2015, at the young age of 51. Tim was a lifelong resident of Burlington and a man who made his family the center of his universe. He was the son of Edward and Priscilla Sheldon. He grew up in Burlington where he excelled in sports, especially hockey. He was a 1981 graduate of Burlington High School and a 1985 graduate of Fitchburg State. He married his college sweetheart Cheryl Forti and they soon started a family. Tim was blessed to have three wonderful daughters, Paige, Kayla, and Olivia, who he cherished and supported, each in his own very special way. He was their coach, advisor, friend, and biggest fan. He was extremely proud of each of them for their many accomplishments and how they have grown into beautiful young women. He always encouraged them to pursue their dreams and follow their hearts. He guided them in finding their perfect colleges, with Paige soon to earn her bachelor’s degree in Education, Kayla attending her first year at college and following her dream of playing softball, and Olivia obtaining high honor roll status as a junior in high school. Tim took pride in coaching many of their sports teams including Burlington Softball, Pumas Club Volleyball, and Middlesex Crossfire Softball. In his eight years of coaching on Middlesex Crossfire, Tim’s fellow coaches and players quickly became his second family. His love for the sport and the friendships he made will always hold a special place in his heart. He was so proud to watch each of the players grow and follow their dreams as if they were his own daughters. He enjoyed spending time with his family and friends at Samoset on Lake Winnipesaukee, a special place that holds many family memories. They enjoyed boating and swimming on the lake in the summer and skiing in the winter. He also spent many summers with his family on Wingaersheek Beach in Gloucester, basking in the sun with all of his siblings, nieces and nephews. Tim had a much larger extended family, where sports played an integral part of his childhood. He and his brothers and sister grew up having sock fights, playing baseball, football, hockey, wiffle ball, and riding the waves at Seabrook Beach. As the years progressed, Tim taught himself the game of golf, getting his handicap as low as 12, without taking any formal lessons. He always booked the first tee time at Green Meadows on Sunday mornings with his brother-in-law Kyle, so that his passion for golf would not interfere with his family’s activities. He would tee off at sunrise and was able to get eighteen holes in and still be home by 9 a.m. He never turned down any opportunity to play golf with family and friends. If he did, he knew he would miss out on the chance to wager two dollars and finish off with a laugh at the nineteenth hole. When he wasn’t helping his girls with schoolwork, or watching his girls compete, he was following all the Boston professional sports teams. He was described as an “avid” Bruins, Patriots, and Red Sox fan, planning his day and week around the games, and passing his love for sports onto his girls. Tim was also well respected in his professional career. He started his career with Fritz Companies in East Boston. It was there that he learned the import /export business and earned his Customs Broker License. He then worked for ten years at Talbots, Inc., before finding his dream job. He became the Director of Transportation & Customs – North America for Converse, a subsidiary of Nike, where he really enjoyed his work, their corporate culture, and the friendships he made. Converse was quick to recognize Tim’s talents and awarded him with participation in the leadership development program. Tim was the devoted husband of Cheryl (Forti) Sheldon for the past 23 years. He was the loving and supportive father of Paige, Kayla, and Olivia. He was the son of Edward & Priscilla of Reading, formerly of Burlington, and brother of Mark & his wife Carol of Burlington, Steven & his wife Ginny of Burlington, and Stephanie Woodward & her husband Michael of Lexington. Tim was the son-in-law of Paul & Marie Forti of Wakefield, formerly of Burlington, and brother-in-law of Christine Forti of Somerville, Michele & Kyle Shields of Burlington, and Joan O’Rourke of Somerville. Tim was the special uncle to Jennifer, Kristen, Lexi, Catherine, Ryan, & Christina Sheldon, Christopher & Cory Woodward, Kyle & Bryan Shields, and Erika & Johnathan Cochran. He is also survived by many aunts, uncles, and friends. It will be difficult for his family to accept his sudden passing, but they will be comforted by the thoughts that he loved and adored “his girls”. They were his pride and joy. Funeral from the Edward V. Sullivan Funeral Home on Monday, Feb. 16 at 9 a.m. Followed by a Mass of Christian Burial in St. Margaret’s Church, 111 Winn St., Burlington at 10 a.m. Interment in Pine Haven Cemetery, Burlington. Visiting hours will be held at the Sullivan Funeral Home on Saturday, Feb. 14 from 2-5 p.m. To assist with parking, please use the shuttle bus service provided from Memorial School Parking Lot, 125 Winn St., Burlington, during visiting hours on Saturday. There will be no visitation on Sunday. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Sheldon Girls Memorial College Fund, c/o Northern Bank & Trust, 13 Center St. Burlington, MA 01803. . Timothy Paul Sheldon August 25, 1963 – February 10, 2015 Eulogy February 16, 2015 On behalf of Cheryl and her family, the Sheldon family, the Forti family and the Shields family……..I want to give a heartfelt ‘ thank you ‘ to all the family, friends, colleagues, and acquaintances who braved the storm on Saturday to pay their respects to my brother Tim. I also want to thank Kevin Sullivan and his staff for dealing with the weather challenges. The outpouring of sympathies and magnitude of people who showed up, waited in the cold and snow for 2+ hours was unprecedented……..You helped take the ‘sorrow and heartache’ out of this tragedy for our families…….and for that…….we cannot ever thank you enough for your love and support. Tim was the beneficiary of being the ‘youngest’……..the ‘baby’……… of the family……and I still think of him this way today. Tim had a quiet, even-tempered demeanor about him. Those of you who knew him would probably agree. His sense of humor was refined and subtle and at times……you had to ponder whether he was poking fun at you….. or if it was just part of his regular conversation……..BUT….. ……….he was not immune from doing some very funny things……… - Once when Tim was very little………dinner was over, the dishes were cleaned and put away and it was time for a bath (my sister Stephanie recalls it was at least an hour after dinner)……….Tim was sitting in the bathtub and had a mouth full of peas leftover from dinner that he refused to swallow. At this early age, he already learned perseverance. - Our family used to vacation every summer at the beach in Seabrook, NH. We either rented the Brown cottage or the Green cottage. It was a lot of fun. There were great memories of this time in our lives. - One of the best all time Tim stories which we perpetuated for many years after…….. happened when he first started playing organized hockey. He was asked to make sure his name was on his helmet so the coaches could learn everyone’s names (you may have seen a similar helmet at Sullivan’s). So he proceeded to grab his helmet, some white tape, and a permanent marker and locked himself in the bathroom. He emerged with his helmet on and very proud of his handy work………and we couldn’t stop laughing………his helmet read – YMMIT………..he wrote his name with his helmet on….. while looking in the mirror……….he was so proud of his work…….…we called him Ymmit for many years after that. - There were other great memories of him growing up…….he played neighborhood street hockey for years and years on Phillip Ave……….he played sock tag in the house…………..and there were never ending knee hockey games …….. ………his first car which I think he bought from Walter Zenkin………funny how it had the names Dave, Mike, Carl, Andy, Dana, Paul, Tom, and I know there were more……. All carved into the roof. BUT….this ‘Baby brother’ grew up. He matured, was disciplined and became this prominent person right before our eyes. He met Cheryl …….they married……raised three beautiful daughters (Paige, Kayla, and Olivia)…… he was a loving and devoted husband and father…….he had such pride and love for his girls and Cheryl……..he was involved in their activities and interests and coached their teams over the years…… He always put family first, never missed one of his daughter’s volleyball or softball games. He would catch up on anything work related after the games ended. I want to speak a little bit about the significance softball played in Tim’s family. Tim coached the Middlesex Crossfire softball team with Greg Mazure for many years. They played in local tournaments and traveled outside of New England frequently as well. This was a high-powered team that routinely beat high school age teams back when the Crossfire girls were in 8th and 9th grades. Many of the girls have gone on to great success, some winning a state title for Burlington High School and one even winning an NCAA title in college. Like many of you who have coached your children’s teams….. it was a big time commitment and often superseded other family activities but Tim was ‘all in’, took great pride in watching the girls compete, and wouldn’t trade the experience for anything……….so for all you girls still playing, don’t slack off………he is watching you! He was also a good athlete in his own right, he played hockey at Burlington High School and his freshman year in college………and became a very good golfer as well……….he worked in the Import/ Export business getting his start at Fritz Companies then Talbots and recently at Converse in the Logistics and Compliance group……..where I might add he really enjoyed working…….he spoke frequently about the people he worked with and the great environment they fostered………..he was happy where he was in life…….he was successful in his career………he had a beautiful family……….he embraced the Burlington community and they embraced him. Tim’s death was sudden and unexpected and didn’t follow my purview of mortality………it left us with such sorrow and pain……..but I know this will eventually pass, although this may not seem possible to us today….…it will take time to accept our loss……… and adjust ourselves to its impact. Heartache will fade….. and be replaced by fond memories of him. I encourage you to celebrate his life…… when you feel sad and long for him………….bring him into your thoughts and think of a happy time together…….recall him laughing……imagine him smiling……..think of one of his favorite sayings ( like….”girls – you have homework?”………OR……he would often run into the woods on the golf course and say to Paul and Kyle, his long time golfing partners,……”you know I only have one kidney”……….. There was a special bond between Kyle and Tim. They did so many things together over the years that Kyle truly was like a brother to him and he loved Tim very much. The last one I’ll mention……….one Thanksgiving, Tim and Cheryl were not spending it at home and Tim said he wanted a turkey for sandwiches during the week………Cheryl said ‘I’m not cooking it’…….so Tim went to the store and came back with a 10 pounder……..only problem was……. it was a 10 lb chicken and not a turkey! This tragedy reminds me of one of my favorite movies….’It’s A Wonderful Life’. Clarence, the angel, shows George what life would be like if he never existed. It was frightening. Each one of us has the chance to impact hundreds of lives. Tim epitomized this!! The way he lived, the choices he made, were all anchored in level-headed compassion. Tim is all around us in spirit……..he will always be just a thought away from us. Tim we all love you, we will miss you terribly……..you will always be so cherished and close to our hearts……may you rest in peace. Speaking for all whose lives you touched!! Your brother – Steve Sheldon