Phillip Michael Sheridan

Phillip Michael Sheridan died of natural causes, surrounded by his family, on April 23, 2025, in Colorado Springs, Colorado. He was 89, although, as a leap-year baby, it could also be argued that Mike—as he was commonly known—was just 23.

Mike was preceded in death by his wife of nearly 60 years, Joan Sheridan; his parents, George and Vivian Sheridan; his stepsister, Melissa Clark, and his stepbrother, John Metcalf.

He is survived by his daughter, Kimberley, and her husband, Keith, and children Cooper, Mollie, and Brody; his son, Timothy, and his wife, Denise, and children Sam and Rachel; and his son, Sean, and his wife, Linette, and children Henry, Olivia, Margaret, and Evelyn. He is also survived by his sister, Sandra Sheridan Scovell Laney; his brother, Lynn Scott Sheridan; and his stepbrother, Clair William Clark.

Mike was born on February 29, 1936, in Olympia, Washington, at the Capital Park Nursing Home next to the Washington State Capitol because “there was polio in the hospital,” as he noted in his own papers. He grew up in the Pacific Northwest, graduated from Clover Park High School in Tacoma in 1953, and attended the University of Washington.

While at the UW, Mike was a member of the Beta Theta Pi fraternity and played football for several years before a knee injury forced him to stop. He maintained an ardent love of football for the rest of his life. Mike paid his way through college, and in his senior year worked at night as a reservation agent for United Airlines. Upon graduating in 1957 with a B.A. in Business Administration, he set out into the world with a sharp mind and a natural leadership style grounded in working hard alongside others, something that became a lifelong hallmark.

He was quickly hired as United’s representative at Fort Lewis, Washington, and in 1959 was accepted into the coveted management training program at Pan American World Airways. After completing the program, he worked as a Pan Am sales representative in San Francisco before taking on responsibility for the Oakland ticket office and the Northern California sales territory.

In 1961, Mike’s growing faith led him to visit the Corinthians Sunday School class at First Presbyterian Church of Berkeley, where he met two people who would shape the rest of his life: W. Robert Stover, whom he would later work for at his temporary help service, and Joan Lamping, whom he married. Over the next decade, Mike managed the agency’s New York City office and led its European expansion. Mike and Joan started their family and became active local volunteers with Young Life.

In 1971, in a major life change and step of faith, Mike moved the family to Vancouver, Canada, where he became the property manager for Young Life’s Malibu Club. In a remarkable twist of fate, his employment contract was signed by none other than Young Life President Bill Starr who, in 1954, had led a group of high school kids from western Washington to serve on the very first Malibu work crew. Among that group was the young Joan Lamping.

Mike and Joan cherished raising their children in Malibu’s stunning and unique setting. It was an exciting and deeply meaningful time for the whole family, leaving a legacy of powerful memories and lifelong friendships. In fact, when Mike was asked just five weeks before he died to name his best work memory, he pointed to those years at Malibu. Joan would have wholeheartedly agreed.

In 1978, the family moved to Colorado Springs for Mike to manage all of Young Life’s properties, cementing a shared, lasting vision with Joan of creating beautiful places where kids could hear the life-changing message of Jesus Christ.

In the late 1980s he left Young Life and with next door neighbor Mike Maxwell bought the Academy Fence Company. To this day no one can tell which of the two was nicknamed “Chain Link” and which was “Split Rail.”

In 1992, Mike and Joan moved back to California, this time to revitalize the Mission Springs Camp and Conference Center in Scotts Valley. In 1995 it was back to Colorado Springs for a short but fun-filled stint helping run IMS Productions before they enjoyed a brief “retirement.”

But in 2001 Mike got a call to return to Canada to help build Young Life Canada’s RockRidge Canyon in Princeton, British Columbia, closing out a remarkable legacy of developing special places and people.

Those who knew Mike will fondly remember him as, among other things, an avid collector of tin wind-up toys, mechanical cast iron banks, military patches and insignia, political buttons, sports cards, and all kinds of treasures he found at estate sales, antique shops, and flea markets. He was famous for being able to track down virtually anything friends or family were looking for, and he always drove a hard bargain! Once, after finding an old silver cup at a sale, he instigated the Sheridan Invitational Croquet Tournament, which ran for decades and brought endless entertainment (and high-spirited competition) to the whole family.

Tough but fair, some called him “Iron Mike,” while others referred to him as “The Big Cheese.” Yet over the years, he became affectionately and best known as “Pop Pop.” He found great joy in being with his nine grandchildren and rarely missed their sporting events (or any of his kids’ for that matter). Pop Pop enjoyed playing cribbage or cards with a drink before meals together (steak was his favorite).

We’ll smile as we remember his avid reading, puzzling, and tinkering— especially the many years in his workshop—and appreciate his ability to fix things, mow straight lines, and build and refinish furniture and old doors (Golden Oak stain, baby!). He never passed up a chocolate milkshake (with extra-thick malt!) and loved watching football games from his favorite chair.

In his final months, Pop Pop lived at Aberdeen Ridge in Colorado Springs, where he had the short but life-affirming experience of finishing days well and being his best relational self— perhaps the most endearing version of “Mike” any of us ever knew.

Pop Pop would want us to remember a few things: that working hard with your God-given skills is deeply spiritual; that we should not fret—at all; that fairness and honesty matter in all our dealings; that gratitude is essential for everything God has given us; and that he was looking forward to his inevitable reunion with Joan in a better place. He will be deeply missed.

Mike (and Joan) were members of First Presbyterian Church in Colorado Springs.