Mary Irene (Bailey) Sheridan, 91, was born in Olney, IL, on November 6, 1928, the daughter of Bertha (Thomas) and Riley Corbett Bailey.  She died on May 21, 2020.  She married Basil Scranton and together they were the parents to Steve, Monte, and Lisa.  She later married Charles Walker and together they had Mary Anne. On April 27, 1991 she married Norbert Sheridan. 

Mary was preceded in death by her parents, aforementioned husbands, and sons Steve and Monte Scranton. 

Mary is survived by her daughters, Lisa (Ben) Weiler and Mary Anne (Chad) Wissel. She was the loving grandmother to Monty Scranton, Becky Scranton, Riley Scranton, Megan (Patrick) Connelly, Michelle (Tyler) Cowman, Rachael (Josh) Payne, Ashley (Jake) Powell, Bailey Wissel, and Hannah Wissel. She was the great-grandma to Kace Scranton, Holly, Nick, and Marianna Armstrong, Gabe and Tala Scranton, Weiler and Kiernan Connelly, Byron, Raylon, and Harlon Cowman, Mason Payne, and Jade and Daelynn Powell, and Gracie, Colton, Ceely, Cameron, Cheyenne, and Chrisean. 

Mary was raised in rural Richland County before moving to Olney. Born just before the Great Depression, she knew the value of simplicity, good food, and family time.  However, she also reveled in beautiful and fancy things. She was a friendly face and cashier for a number of stores in Olney including Tresslar’s, Ben Franklin, and Wal-Mart.  She was a member of the Richland County Homemaker and Education Association and the American Legion. 

Mary was a lover of all things fancy and will forever be remembered by her grandchildren as being “fouzy.”  Mary adored and doted on her children and grandchildren in a way that made them all feel uniquely special and loved.  She was easy to love and was affectionately known as “Grandma Mary” to many even outside her immediate family.  Mary loved get-togethers, parties, and dances and was often found surrounded by friends and family. Truly one of a kind, she found the humor in getting TP’d in the fall and her children and grandchildren often obliged.  She loved seeing the toilet paper dance in the wind and she was especially thrilled when we used colored toilet paper.  She enjoyed teaching The Chicken Dance to any grandchild that would dance along. Mary had a fondness for the color red and often decorated her beautiful Christmas trees from top to bottom in various hues and shades of red.  She also had a gorgeous display of Christmas tree toppers that were shiny and sparkly and truly reflected her personality.  Mary always had beautiful flower gardens.  She enjoyed cooking and passed this trait on to several grandchildren.  Some favorite recipes she will be especially remembered for were her sourdough bread and rolls, mints, ham balls, refrigerator pickles, cherry and strawberry pies, and Suzy Q cakes.  

Mary was a member of the St. Mary and St. Joseph Catholic churches.

A private family funeral service will be held at 11:00 AM on Tuesday, May 26, 2020 at the Kistler-Patterson Funeral Home in Olney with a public drive-thru visitation beginning at 10:00 AM. The drive-thru visitation will be on the west side of the Olney facility, under the canopy and funeral home staff will be ushering cars through. Burial will follow the service at Haven Hill Memorial Gardens.

Kistler-Patterson Funeral Home, Olney – obituary & photo – May 22, 2020