Donald Sheehan Obituary

Donald "Donnie" Richard Sheehan, 83
Pewee Valley
Donald "Donnie" Richard Sheehan of Pewee Valley, Kentucky was called home by the Lord on Tuesday, Feb. 4, 2025. Donnie was born on July 4, 1941 to the late William and Marie Sheehan.
He treasured his wife, Bonnie Jean (née Graff) Sheehan, with the kind of love described in Corinthians, patient, kind and never failing. Over 40 blessed years of marriage, Donnie shared with Bonnie countless memories on Florida's beaches, through Michigan's tulips and lighthouses, on the back of a motorcycle and most dearly of all, in the company of 30 grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
Donnie was a beloved father to his children, Darrell Sheehan, Deanna Housley, Debbie Sheehan and the late Donald W. Sheehan (Susan). With their mother Juanita McCauley (Lee), they were raised with Sundays spent in a Baptist church near the Ohio River in Westport, Kentucky and in a home of faith and love.
Donnie carried a light impossible to be extinguished by any manner of darkness – a light he shown most brightly for those who knew him simply as Papa. In La Grange, he made sure each of his grandkids learned, from an early-age, how to maneuver kid-friendly equipment like tractors, log-splitters and a red go-kart. All were taught how to drive a Grasshopper riding mower, even if bricks were needed to mitigate a pesky weight sensor. And in the spirit that age is only a number, he continued to test the water slides for his grandkids into his 70s.
What La Grange was to his grandchildren, "Papa and Baba's house" in Pewee Valley is to his great-grandchildren. At Christmas, when their home would be filled with four generations of Sheehans, Papa's smile never wavered and his delight at seeing his family illuminated us all. Noise levels may have prompted him to remove his hearing aids, but the joy in their home persisted well after the gifts were opened and a stifling fire reduced to embers.
Donnie treated his family, neighbors and fellow DQ coffee drinkers with a generous heart that sought nothing in return. One never had to fear that a warm home and a bed was ready when you called on his or Bonnie's care. A man his grandchildren once thought of few words, would later seem eager to tell you a story and to adeptly open his iPhone's camera roll to show you how the job was done.
Greeting him at the gates of Heaven were his parents, sister Ruth Campbell and son Donnie Wayne.
His love of family will live on through his wife Bonnie; his sister, Delois Panke (Ken) and brother, Stanley Sheehan (Bonnie); his son Darrell, his daughters, Deanna and Debbie; and his daughter-in-law, Susan Sheehan.
His kindness will live on through his grandchildren and great grandchildren, Joshua Housley (Chelsea) and their children, Lily and Gabriel; Nathan Housley (Angie) and their children Isaac, Naomi and Luke; Jennifer Wood (Shawn) and their children Lucas, Lauren, Lillian and Lincoln; Jessica Lee (Josh) and their children Ethan, Camden and Sawyer; Ryan Sheehan (Ben) and their children Bella, Liam, Oliver and Hazel; Abigail Farr (Tyler) and their children Henry and Theodore; Taylor Blair (Jennifer) and their son Easton; Morgan Howard (Hayden) and baby boy Howard; Shelby Echsner; Keenan Echsner and Breck Ray.
Donnie was also loved by countless nieces and nephews, neighbors and friends, as well as by "Lady," his and Bonnie's Great Pyrenees.
His visitation will be held at Stoess Funeral Home in Crestwood on Feb. 6 from 2-8 p.m. with a funeral service at the funeral home on Friday, Feb. 7 at noon. Burial will follow at Louisville Memorial Gardens.