Obituaries

David Henry Sheffield, 48, passed away Friday, January 17, 2014 at Texas Health Presbyterian/WNJ, following a lengthy battle with pneumonia. Mass of the Christian Burial will be celebrated by Father Jeremy Myers, with Father Tony Aureus assisting, at 10:00 a.m. Monday, January 20, 2014 at St. Mary’s Catholic Church. Interment will follow in St. Mary’s Cemetery. Family visitation will be held in Dannel Funeral Chapel from 5:00-7:00 Sunday, January 19, 2014. The Rosary will be recited at 5:30 p.m. The youngest son of three brothers and three sisters, David was born to Ed and Rusty Sheffield on January 16, 1966 in Savannah, Georgia. Accompanying his parents cross-country in the quest for employment to Placentia, CA, Lafayette, LA, Bourbannis, IL, and finally, in 1980 to Sherman, TX, David was able to pursue his love of sports participation, eventually concentrating on golf. His dedication and prowess brought acclaim and earned him an athletic scholarship to the University of Oklahoma. In May in 1985, during his freshman year at OU, David was diagnosed with chronic myelogenous leukemia, and underwent bone marrow transplantation, which provided a cessation of symptoms for two years before a second bone marrow transplant was necessary. Following his second hospital confinement, David suffered the effects of Graft vs Host Disease in the form of bronchitis obliterans, which left David with an extreme lung-capacity deficiency. No longer able to pursue his dream of a lifetime – that of becoming a professional golfer – David sought various entrepreneurial means of employment: insurance salesman, brokerage of airline miles, landlord, managing of Outreach program, and eventually self-employment in technological sales and service at Alpha Laptop. David’s latter years have been spent in care-giving for his aging parents. Preceding David in death were his father, Ed, two of his brothers, and two of his sisters. He is survived by his mother, Betty (Rusty) Sheffield, his brother Patrick, of Lafayette, LA, and his sister Regina of Sherman; two nieces, Kaitlyn Sheffield of Lafayette, LA, and Sydney Sexton of Sherman, TX; very special friend Laura Marie, as well as a host of friends.