ALUMNI

Wilmer Vernon "Whitey" Sheridan
January 4, 1916 - February 2, 2008

The Club was terribly saddened at the loss of Whitey Sheridan, a beloved and longtime supporter of HOC and track and field in the City. Track and field in this community will always bear his imprint.

Announcement:
Peacefully at Regina Gardens in Hamilton, surrounded by his family.  Beloved husband of Gladys Eileen (Thornton) for 68 years.  He will be sadly missed by children John (Judy), Ann (Bud), David (Arlene), Michael(Diane), Neil (Jan), Bonnie (John), Mary (Bruce), Wendy (Andrew), Judy (Fred), 28 grandchildren, and 26 great grandchildren.  Predeceased by parents John and Jeannette Sheridan, siblings Jack, Fred, and Marion, and grandson Cory.
 
Whitey's accomplishments and dedication within the national and international running communities is fondly remembered.  As a teenager, Whitey won the Ontario Schoolboy 1 Mile championship, and placed seventh in an invitational meet in New Jersey.  Offered a full athletic scholarship to Ivy League Seton Hall, Whitey instead stayed home to look after his widowed mother, taking a job in the Stelco blast furnace where he worked for 40 years.  In 1952, Whitey placed third in the Canadian Olympic Marathon Trials, narrowly missing qualification for the Helsinki Olympics.  Other accomplishments include several second and third place finishes in the Around the Bay Race, competing in the Berwick, PA Run for the Diamonds fifty times, induction into the Canadian Road Running Hall of Fame, and having the Waterdown High School track named in his honour.  For over twenty years, Whitey hosted a 15km race at his home in Waterdown.  His greatest pleasure, however, was making and visiting countless friends around the globe and at his home the Runners' Roost.