John J. Sheridan Jr.
...Pearl harbor Survivor
TEWKSBURY - John J. Sheridan Jr, beloved husband of thelate Margaret Walsh Sheridan, of Tewksbury and Sarasota,Florida, died January 24th. He was 84.
Born in Providence, RhodeIsland on November 14th 1919, he was educated in Providence andgraduated from Classical High School in 1937 where he won boththe Latin and French achievement medals. At the age of 21 Mr.Sheridan joined the Navy and volunteered for the submarineservice in March of 1941. He was serving aboard the submarineU.S.S. Wahoo based in Honolulu as a radioman, when onDecember 7th, 1941 he received the message, “Pearl Harbor underattack, this is no drill.” Mr. Sheridan asked that the message berepeated before he sent it to his commanding officer. According tothe definitive history of “The Silent Service”, this was the firstmessage received by the fleet indicating the United States was atwar. During the war Mr. Sheridan served aboard the U.S.S.Gudgeon, which was awarded the Presidential Unit Citation forsinking the most Japanese ships in one war cruise than any otherprevious submarine. Mr. Sheridan retired from the Navy in 1961atthe rank of Chief Warrant Officer, 3c, after receiving theAmerican Defense with Fleet Clasp medal, the Asiatic-PacificCampaign Medal with 5 battle stars, the American TheatrePresidential Unit Citation, the Good Conduct Medal, and TheWorld War II Victory Medal.
Upon his retirement from the Navy, he worked for AvcoMissile Systems, Raytheon and Textron. After his retirement fromTextron, Mr. Sheridan became a talented amateur writer. Hiswriting reflected his many combat experiences and life in thesubmarine service. His story The Songbird of Trieste is aparticular favorite to those who have read his stories.
In 1991 the Tewksbury Board of Selectmen and theCommonwealth of Massachusetts recognized him on the 50thanniversary of Pearl Harbor with citations for his service as a PearlHarbor survivor. In 1995 he received the Royal Navy Submarinersbadge from the Royal British Naval association in Tewkesbury,England, in recognition of his submarine service in the UnitedStates.
He was a communicant of St. Dorothy’s Church inWilmington, member of the Wilmington VFW, the Tewksbury-Wilmington Lodge of Elks #2020, the Mishawam Choral groupand the National Submarine Veteran’s group.
He leaves his son, John J. Sheridan III, and his wifeElizabeth (Patterson) Sheridan of Egg Harbor, NJ; two daughters,Marjorie Conlon and her husband Thomas G. Conlon ofTewksbury, Kathleen Kimble and her companion Lloyd Kimble ofTewksbury; his grandchildren, Carrie (Sheridan) Nelson and herhusband Eric, John J. Sheridan IV and his wife Melissa, ToddSheridan, Ann (Conlon) Whynot and her husband Marc, MeghanConlon, Caitlin Conlon, Jacquelyn Conlon, and ChristopherKimble, his great grandchildren, Taylor and Bryce Nelson andEmma and Claudia Sheridan, sisters-in-law Celia (Walsh) Parkerand her husband John of Warwick, RI, and Kathleen (Walsh)Whalen and her husband Edward of Charlestown, RI; dear friends,Joe and Ellie Pellitier of Wilmington, and Betty Downs ofSarasota, FL.
His FuneralMass was celebrated Thursday, Jan. 29, in St. Dorothy’s Church , Wilmington. Interment with NavyHonors was in Tewksbury Cemetery.
Memorials to the American Council of the Blind, P.O;. Box 401036, Cambridge, MA 02140-0011 will be appreciated.