Douglas Pratt Sheldon

Douglas Pratt Sheldon was known as many things to many people. A husband, a father, a grandfather, a community leader, a businessman and business partner, a volunteer, a teacher, a mentor, and of course a friend. He made an indelible mark on all who knew him.

Doug was born on July 26th, 1929 in Sioux City, Iowa. He was the son of Henry Douglas and Lenore Pratt Sheldon, and had one sister, Betty Lee. Doug spent his early years in Iowa pheasant hunting with his father, ice skating on the frozen winter ponds, and fishing with his grandfather in the numerous lakes of the area.

When Doug was about 11, his family moved to Denver, Colorado for his father’s job promotion. Doug attended Jesuit boarding schools in the Denver area, and graduated high school from Denver’s Regis University (as it had accepted high school students during WWII). Colorado also introduced Doug to the wonders of the great outdoors. Skiing became his passion. His weekends at University of Colorado were spent up in the mountains skiing the soft Rocky Mountain powder snow. His summers were spent as a horse wrangler and trail guide at Estes National Park.

In 1951, after three years in electrical engineering at CU, Doug was drafted into the US Army. In a life-changing twist of fate, Doug had a last minute reassignment to the 2nd Armored Division in Germany instead of Korea where he originally been assigned. His three years in Germany instilled a lifelong desire for travel and exploring new countries and cultures, as well as deep love of the German countryside and its people. With his frequent travels to Paris, Bavaria, Belgium and Holland, he also developed a strong interest in photography as a way to capture the personality and sometimes haunting beauty of post-war Europe.

After the end of his military duties, Doug returned to complete his college studies at the University of Denver, completing a degree in Business and Finance. In his first job out of school, the Colorado Insurance Group sent Doug west to Salem Oregon as their sole life insurance sales representative in the area. Doug very much enjoyed exploring Oregon’s beauty, skiing the local mountains, and attending numerous social gatherings. It was at a party in Vancouver Washington where he met Shirley Pett, a North Dakota native who had also recently moved to the Northwest. Shirley and Doug were married on November 10th, 1956 in Vancouver. After a honeymoon on the Oregon Coast, they settled in Salem where Doug was now a partner in a life insurance agency.

Doug and Shirley were blessed with two sons, John and Bob. They have also been blessed with three grandchildren, Parker, Sara, and CJ.

A new job brought Doug, Shirley and the boys to Portland in November of 1963. Doug was now a VP of Finance for a Portland area insurance company, and joined other Salem area friends, Bob and Ann Hedges and Warren and Willeva Foote on a new adventure in the Portland area.

Shirley and Doug’s first new Portland friends were Hal and Anna Lou Lee, whose daughter Lisa was in pre-school with John. The Sheldons and the Lees shared many adventures over the next 40+ years.

Doug and Shirley’s faith was very important to them. They joined a new church in Tigard, St. James Episcopal, in about 1967. Doug was a member of the finance committee for many years, and was an active member until his passing. Many of Doug and Shirley’s lifelong friends were made at the church, as their favorite activities were socializing with their Sinner’s Dinners groups, as well as many picnics, ski trips, and Father’s Day events.

Doug enjoyed traveling and time away on vacations, including sailing trips on the Columbia River and in Canada, white water rafting, countless weekends at Fishhawk Lake with the Lees, numerous Canadian ski trips, rain-soaked camping trips on the Oregon Coast, sailing in the San Juan Islands, and a trip to England with John and Elisa Newell in the 1980’s. He and Shirley also visited New England, Hawaii, and points in-between in their more than 50 years together.

Doug had a stroke in 1988 that slowed him down a bit, but didn’t stop his enthusiasm for helping others and making new friends. He was a regular volunteer at VA Medical Clinics, and was a long-time Kiwanis Club member.

Doug passed away on Thursday, December 11th, 2014 at Providence St. Vincent Medical Center in Portland, Oregon. He was preceded in death by his wife Shirley in January of 2009. He is survived by his son John and his wife Lidia, his son Bob and his wife Jackie, and grandkids Parker, 21, Sara, 20, and CJ, 15. Services were held December 20th at St, James Episcopal Church in Tigard, Oregon. Remembrances can be sent to St. James Episcopal Church.

Doug was a good and kind father, husband, and friend who will be always remembered by those who knew him as an active and vital part of their lives. Doug leaves behind a legacy of life-long friendships and many cherished memories.