David Edward Sheehan

Died March 5, 2020. David Edward Sheehan was born on March 8, 1947 in Sonoma County, California to Vivian Shonbacker and Otto Sitenga. He was raised by his mother and stepfather, Edward Thomas Sheehan. He was the youngest of three boys (John Sheehan, Gary Combatalade) and while living in San Francisco, got into a fair amount of kids-being-kids trouble with his always adventurous brother, John. When he was a teen, his family moved to Petaluma where he attended Petaluma High School but ultimately graduated from Mission Adult High School in San Francisco.

David learned gardening from his step-father and the landscape contractors he worked for. He eventually worked for the City and County of San Francisco as a Gardener for over thirty years before retiring early at 57.

David married his wife, Holly Marie Lightfoot, just six months after meeting her on a blind date in 1976. His pride and joy, his only child, Kyle Edward Sheehan, was born eight years later.

David and Holly moved to Grants Pass in 2004 and David spent most of his time outside working on landscaping and tending to the chores associated living on acreage and in the trees. He never met a gopher or mole he couldn’t catch and taught seminars for local garden groups on how to catch them. His property contains a small Cabernet vineyard and he tended to the grapes and made wine for a few years.

He was very artistic and could envision landscape layouts and put them into place. He also had a great eye for color and assisted his wife in choosing colors for the quilts she made. He often designed the layouts, precision cut the fabrics, and even sewed. Although he assisted on many quilts, he made one by himself and it earned Third Place in the Josephine County fair.

David grew up hating cats until his wife adopted one in 1983. Since then, he has become the best Cat Dad to his many cats. He cared for them deeply with daily brushings, managing their vet appointments and their special needs diets. Of his nine cats, his favorites were Medea and Lucy.

He is survived by his wife of 43 years (Holly Lightfoot-Sheehan), his son Kyle (Jeannine) Sheehan, nieces Bonnie Sheehan and Stephanie Seibel Hennelly, as well as cousins, friends and family and four beloved cats. In lieu of flowers, please consider making a donation to the Rogue Valley Humane Society or your local animal shelter or to a suicide prevention organization.