Obituary of Carla Louise Sheridan

Carla was born August 10, 1951 to Abe and Helene (Dyck) Funk. She died in the loving arms of her family on May 18, 2017 at Calgary Foothills Hospital while visiting from Saskatoon, SK. Left to mourn her loss are her husband Mike Sheridan, her daughter Jessica Sheridan and Jessica’s son Devon from Ottawa, her daughter Anna (Andy) Robertshaw and their children Tom and Georgia from Calgary, her sister Lorna (Don) Hauta from Dinsmore, and her brothers Wayne (Jeannette) from Saskatoon, and Ray from Spruce Home, as well as 10 nieces and nephews. Also mourning are Mike’s family; his sister Jane (John) from New Brunswick, brother David from Ontario, and John from Newfoundland. She will also be missed by her large extended family and many friends. She was predeceased by her parents; Helene in 2003 and Abe in 2012, as well as Mike’s parents; Jim in 2008, and Ruth in 2011. Carla grew up on a farm near Laird, Sk. in the post-war environment of clans, churches, co- ops, and vibrant rural communities that seemed like they might go on forever. She attended Laird Public School and graduated from Rosthern Junior College in 1969. Her most intense period of adventure began with an assignment with Mennonite Central Committee in South-western Ontario. She followed that with several years in the student activist environment of Simon Fraser University; attachments to the rural commune movement around Dawson Creek, BC; political campaigns; and hitchhiking throughout North America. Throughout this time she honed her farm- learned survival skills and instinctive common sense, while making sure all those around her got the maximum amount of productivity and joy out of each day. Her first real job was as the first National Women’s Organizer of the federal NDP when she was 21. She managed campaigns for icons of the Canadian left such as Muriel Duckworth, Doris Shackleton, and Jane Bigelow. Her effective grass roots organizing contributed significantly to the strong showing by Rosemary Brown at the 1975 NDP Leadership Convention in Winnipeg. Her next pivotal stop came with management of the cafeteria at Natonum Community College, in Prince Albert. There she met and married Mike Sheridan, a handsome hungry, guitar-picking historian/adult educator from Kingston, Ontario. They were married on her parent’s farm on August 25, 1979. They remained each other’s best friends, steadfast companions, and loving supporters till her passing. The next period of Carla’s life saw the arrival of her two adored daughters Jessica and Anna in Saskatoon. She also brought her good-humoured nature, organizing wizardry, and complete loyalty, to the operations of a series of lucky politicians including Jerry Hammersmith, her brother Ray Funk (in Ottawa), Dennis Gruending, and Roy Romanow. She demonstrated her fondness for Saskatoon by connecting with a wide range of friends and serving the community in many ways, including serving on the Board of Directors of the Saskatoon Credit Union. On May 22, 2002 Carla’s life changed completely. She experienced a severe aneurism and heart attack from which she never fully recovered. Her vision, speech, breathing, eating, and mobility were all profoundly affected. However, rather than being held back by all of this, she fought back with joy at being alive, a fierce determination to tackle every obstacle, and a spiritual oneness with all her relatives and friends. She became a legend to all that knew her. She used the extra time to draw even closer to her many supporters, and to make it clear whose side she was on in society’s struggles. She learned to lean on Mike and the girls, while experiencing the joy of being the grandmother in her own family. Her unerring instinct for building a better world made all who lived and worked with her better people. Each person in her life knew from her personal touch that you were loved, and that she believed you would always do your best and follow your conscience. To all those in this very wide circle she was endlessly forgiving and fiercely loyal. She lives on in ways without number.