Traverse City Record-Eagle

Archive: Friday

November 23, 2012

Ruth Alison (Pottinger) Sheridan

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LEELANAU COUNTY — Ruth Sheridan, a very caring wife, mother, grandmother and great-grandmother, passed away peacefully at her home on Nov. 15, 2012, after a long battle with cancer.

Ruth was born in Detroit on Aug. 13, 1929, to James and Murielle (Smith) Pottinger. In 1946, she graduated from "Leelanau Pinebrook for Girls" and loved living in Leelanau County for 65 out of 83 years of life! One summer she even had the privilege of living on South Manitou Island for a season. Her treasured memories of South Manitou remain ingrained in her character and she traveled back many times thereafter.

Her passion was gardening, whiich was evident by the brilliant array of flowers and plants strategically placed in and around her home. She had a natural gift of always planting and arranging things to just make life and her surroundings more beautiful for all to enjoy. She was also gifted with the talent of drawing, sketching and painting. One of her precious masterpieces was her rendering of an "Upper Peninsula" landscape which manifested into a license plate which she successfully marketed across northern Michigan. She also had a love for the outdoors in Michigan with its Great Lakes where you could find her beachcombing, picking blue stones or sinking her toes into the sand. In the springtime, mushrooming was a family tradition.

Ruth is survived by her husband, John Sheridan; three children, John (Judi) Eichstadt of Glen Arbor, Jeanne Foglesong of Traverse City, and Jimmy (Kari) Eichstadt of Cedar; seven grandchildren, Dylan (Pam) Foglesong of Glen Arbor, Daisie (Grant) Foglesong-Barrette of Carbondale, Colo., Andrew Fogleson of Cornucopia, Wis., and Kaleena, Kirby, Kyra and Kennedy Eichstadt, all of Cedar; three great-grandchildren, Camilla and Gretel Foglesong, and Hazel Barrette. Also surviving is her sister, Nancy (Hartland) Johnson Smith, nieces, nephews, and many loving family and friends.

Her family would like to especially thank Hospice of Michigan and each individual within that staff for their genuine and dedicated service and exceptional care given to Ruth. We would also like to offer gratitude to the Rev. Ron White for his tender words of affirmation and eternal confidence to Ruth and the family members.

A private family gathering will occur at a later date within the Maple Grove Cemetery grounds.

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