Colonel US Army, (Retired) James Davis Sheldon
A veteran who proudly served his country passed to be with the Lord on October 11, 2026, in Lima, Ohio at the age of 97. Born in the Panama Canal Zone July 9, 1929, to Commander USN, (Ret.) Robert C. and Grace (nee Cunningham) Sheldon, Jim first lived in Pedro Magil, within 100 yards of the locks. After the bombing of Pearl Harbor, Jim and his three siblings moved to Dunkirk, OH in 1942 and went back and forth between Ohio, Florida, and Louisiana during the war years. In the summers, he worked with his Granddad Bert Sheldon in the Gilboy Oil Fields as a tool dresser and made $1/hour. He graduated from Martin Berman HS, New Orleans, in 1947, and enrolled at Georgia Tech. After one year, he enlisted in the Army in the Horse Calvary and was sent to Fort Riley, Kansas. He graduated from OCS in March 1950 and headed to Korea when the war broke out in June. He landed at Pusan, Inchon, Iwon, and Yalu River… froze his feet and fought in the Central Mountains until he left Korea by ship in May or June 1951. He met Estelle Smith in Fort Jackson, SC, got married in 1952, and had three children.
Jim went back to GA Tech and graduated as a civil engineer in March of ’55. He moved to Ada and then Elida, OH, and worked with his father at Sheldon Engineering in Lima and trained as a Green Beret in the Army Reserves in the summers. In 1964 he received Special Ops training from CIA and moved to Thailand in 1965, where he spent 10 years fighting the war in SE Asia. He returned to Thailand in ’76 for three more years, worked recruitment in Kansas City and St. Louis, and then went to South Korea as Chief of Research Unit in the US Embassy in 1981. He retired from the government in 1985 and returned to the United States. He eventually returned to Sheldon Engineering and settled in Lima. He was active in the American Legion China Post 1, Masons, Shriners, VFW, and the Honor Guard of 17th Infantry Regiment in Ohio. In 1999, he met Marivic Rivera and they married in 2000, enjoying his senior years with her company and humor.
He is survived by his loving wife of 26 years, Marivic Sheldon, and children Judy Sheldon (husband Chris Gorman) of Ellicott City, MD; Ed Sheldon of Boston, MA; and Mary Sheldon of Burnsville, NC; seven grandchildren: Holly Gorman (Austin, TX), Ivy Gorman (Germantown, MD), Tom Gorman (Richmond, VA), Heather Sheldon (Dublin, Ireland), Stephen Sheldon (Co. Kerry, Ireland), Sarah Ludwig (Oakland, CA), and Alex Ludwig (Menlo Park, CA); and six great-grandchildren: Elina, Asher, William, Aurora, Gavin, and Madeline.
Family service and interment have been held with military honors. A Memorial Service will be held on Saturday, November 7, at 11:00 at Bayliff & Son Funeral Home in Cridersville.
