Donna Kay Sheridan's Obituary
Donna Kay Sheridan was born August 5, 1943 in Bartlesville, Oklahoma to Eleree and Grover Pittman of Dewey, Ok. She passed away June 18, 2025 at Clarehouse Hospice in Tulsa, Oklahoma. She is survived by niece Cindy Shead and husband Ralph of Carl Junction, Missouri; nephew David Geurin and wife Debra of Dewey, Oklahoma; nephew Robert Byfield of Bartlesville, Oklahoma, and by numerous great nieces and great nephews. She is preceded in death by her parents Eleree and Grover; her husband Gary Sheridan; sister Rosalie Pittman Geurin; sister Ardith Pittman McKinney; sister Betty Pittman Byfield; brother Charles Pittman and brother Glenn Cleland; nephew Mike Byfield, Bartlesville, Ok.
Donna grew up in Dewey, Oklahoma where her parents introduced her early in life to a Christian community by including her in the activities of the First Christian Church of Dewey. There she made a profession of faith in Jesus Christ as her personal Savior and was baptized in her youth in the presence of that congregation. After graduating from High School in 1961, Donna continued her education at Coffeyville College, Coffeyville, Kansas; Bartlesville Business College; the University of Tulsa and the University of Maryland (Associates Degree).
Donna married Gary D. Sheridan of Nowata, Ok on December 31,1968 at the First Christian Church of Dewey. They began their married life in Bartlesville and were together until his death in August, 2012 in Tulsa, Ok.
Donna began her working career in Bartlesville. Her employment there included being the Credit Manager at Jane Phillips Memorial Medical Center. She and Gary later moved to Tulsa where she was Marketing Administrative Assistant at Telex. During that time while serving on the board of directors of The Tulsa World Trade Association she was instrumental in bringing the first Chinese-US Trade Show to the Mid-West. That job was followed by employment at three heavy equipment companies: Caterpillar, Albert and Leland. In 1983 husband Gary accepted a job in Sarasota, Florida, which was exciting for them since they had loved vacationing in Florida enjoying the beaches and Deep Sea Fishing. During their time in Florida Donna held positions as Branch Vice President of Fleet Finance and then Broker Assistant at Shearson Lehman Brothers. Four years later they returned to Oklahoma and Donna took a job as Credit Analyst at Nordam. They left Oklahoma again when Gary took a job in the Washington DC area and they settled in Bowie, Maryland. In 1990 Donna was hired as the Credit and Collections Manager at Micros Systems in Beltsville Md. and then later with Frank Parsons Paper Company in Landover, Md. Donna chose to retire in 2005 when Gary's health was declining and they returned to their house in Bixby.
Even though both she and Gary enjoyed the climate, boating, fishing and sightseeing in Florida, Donna loved living in Maryland more. The shrimp was good in Florida, but the crab cakes in Maryland were even better.
Of all the jobs she had, the one that Donna got the most satisfaction and pride from was the business that she and Gary established and operated together, Aqua Drill. It was challenging as Chief Financial Officer and oftentimes physically challenging working out in the field. She experienced events such as having blue dyed lower legs from mixing drilling mud, and another time when the above ground part of the rig rotated like a merry-go-round when the drill bit locked up. Perhaps more comical after the fact than at the time.
Wherever Donna worked and lived, she made long-lasting friends. Her upbeat, gracious and generous nature combined with a quick wit that was hard to match made for sympathy when needed or a good laugh when appropriate. Donna was a lover of books. She enjoyed proofreading for writers. It was helpful to them and as a bonus she got to read their work before it was published. She loved to cook and to cook for other people. She also loved to garden. She especially loved animals and was Mama to a number of cats and dogs through. She enjoyed being Aunt Donna to several generations. Donna loved all things Brit and had a dream of going there. She fulfilled that dream while she was still able to do so and cherished those memories. She will be dearly missed.
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