MARTHA PAINTER SHEEDER
November 18, 1958 ~ October 20, 2016
Martha was born November 18, 1958 in Houston, Texas and is the daughter of Dr. Joseph Thomas Painter and Ann Hill Painter, also of Houston. The third sibling of four, Martha was fun loving, witty and genuinely loved life. She attended St. John’s School and was heavily involved in a variety of sports. Like many in her family, Martha headed to University of Texas in Austin in 1976, earning a degree in advertising. She was an avid football enthusiast and an active member of the Pi Beta Phi sorority. Martha’s charismatic personality enabled her to
easily form lifelong friendships.
Martha then pursued a career in bank marketing. At a mutual friend’s wedding in 1980, Martha met Robert “Bob” Elwood Sheeder of Indiana, Pennsylvania. After a long distance courtship, they married in1981, and Martha joined Bob in Pittsburgh. In 1984, Martha encouraged Bob to accept a job offer in the “new and growing” city of Dallas. A few years after relocating to Dallas, Martha was blessed with four beautiful daughters: Allison Hill Sheeder, Meredith Fontaine Sheeder, Lindsay Elizabeth Sheeder, and Maury Kathryn Sheeder.
After 26 wonderful years as a stay-at-home mother and following her divorce, Martha undertook a new challenge and returned to school to study nursing. She graduated in 2014 from the Baylor School of Nursing in
Dallas, having received multiple merit-based and faculty-awarded scholarships. Having triumphed in her own hard-fought battle with breast cancer, Martha decided that her nursing skills and life experiences would best be used by helping cancer patients fight their illnesses. Thus, she accepted a position as an Infusion Nurse for Texas Oncology in Dallas. Her heartfelt smile and her uplifting story continuously comforted and inspired those in such need until her untimely death.
Martha was a member of Highland Park Presbyterian Church. She was active in her community, volunteering at her children’s schools, her church, and with numerous charitable organizations. Martha loved the outdoors, especially the family farm in Centerville, Texas, cooking with family and friends, training and riding her
horses, summer trips to Port Aransas, Texas, and spending time with her daughters. Martha had recently begun a relationship with Samuel B. Manning II that brought her so much joy. Martha also adored her beloved Golden Retriever, Jasper.
Martha had a zest for life that was simply unmatched. Her smile and boisterous voice would light up any room. Her compassion, generosity and joyfulness touched every person she met. Her faith in our Heavenly Father was deep and unwavering. Simply put, Heaven gained the most beautiful angel, indeed. While the depth of her loss
cannot be understated, we take comfort in knowing that we have gained an angel in Heaven to watch over us.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorial donations in Martha’s honor to The Martha Painter Sheeder Endowed Scholarship in Nursing ((
http://www.baylor.edu/giving/sheeder))
After feedback from many that the Baylor donation website was challenging to navigate, we created the following GoFundMe, which should be a much simpler way to donate to the Martha Painter Sheeder Endowed Scholarship fund.
https://www.gofundme.com/marthasheeder All raised funds will be donated to Martha’s endowed academic scholarship at Baylor School of Nursing which will be awarded to support single mothers pursuing a career in nursing later in life.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Original Post:
On Saturday night (10/15/2016) while at dinner, Martha had a yet to be
diagnosed medical incident. She lost consciousness at the restaurant and CPR was
initiated. 911 was called and Martha was transferred to Parkland hospital. Martha is intubated in ICU while they try
and diagnose this unexpected and yet to be explained event. Stroke and heart
attack have been ruled out, aspiration is a possibility. She is receiving
excellent care and her family and Sam are at her side. The family appreciates
your prayers and concerns during this difficult time, however, they ask that
visits to the hospital be limited.
Please refer to this website rather than contacting the family directly.
Updates will be posted as soon as we learn them. Martha is strong and right
with the Lord. Your prayers make a difference and are so appreciated.
