Will Sheehan IV

“Few of us will have the greatness to bend history itself, but each of us can work to change a small portion of events, and in the total of all those acts will be written the history of this generation. Each time a man stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lots of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope, and crossing each other from a million different centers of energy and daring, those ripples build a current that can sweep down the mightiest of walls of oppression and resistance.” - JFK Will Sheehan, 41, passed away peacefully on December 28, 2022, surrounded by friends and family. Born William Francis Sheehan IV to Bill & Mag Sheehan on October 16, 1981, in Boulder Colorado, Will went on to live in Montana, Washington, California, North Carolina, and then back to Colorado where he lived out his final days loving his family, making origami, watercolor painting, meditating and spreading his endless knowledge and generosity wherever he went. Will grew up listening to his mom and dad’s 70’s rock & roll, blues, and jazz – some of the best in the world – so it was no surprise that Will had an early love for music. From early joy with the grade school choir and trumpet through the inevitable middle school stint as guitarist in an informal rock and roll band, his love for music grew. As Will was with most things, he fully dedicated himself to studying music, graduating from the Los Angeles Recording School’s Audio Engineering Program in 2006. From there, he worked at the Latino Theatre Company and the Alex Theatre in LA and various record labels, producing shows and albums before leaving that Cali lifestyle behind to return to his home state of Colorado. Here, he continued his dedication to music and worked at all the major venues and music festivals in and around town, as well as the Center of the Arts at Colorado State University. In his spare time, he learned endlessly, researching & teaching himself every detail of whatever thing struck his fancy. If you knew Will, you knew what it was like when he’d recently discovered something new, because then, if you were lucky, he’d teach you everything he’d learned. He was a proponent of true justice in every realm, defending the arts, animals, fellow humans, and the earth at every chance. Will was a musician, a poet, a philosopher, a botanist, a teacher, a photographer, and a citizen scientist. He helped NASA look for exoplanets, he kept at least 50 air plants alive in our arid climate, and published short stories online. With a satirical glint in his eye, he would gladly tell of his ordination as a Dudeist priest by the Church of the Latter-Day Dude. He helped put over a lifetime of music out into the world, and some of that into playlists on Spotify, so please give those a listen when you’re missing him (link below). We never saw Will do anything carelessly or aimlessly. You might call him meticulous, but it was something more than that. When he cared about something, which he did a lot, he did it so completely. He truly was all love, and in the end, he gave those of us who had the privilege of being at his side so much of it. We were, and continue to be, inspired by him, so utterly proud of him, and better for knowing him. A Celebration of Will’s Life will be held locally in Fort Collins this summer. Those left to cherish Will’s memory are his loving grandparents, Gene and Rho Blanchard in Michigan and Diana Sheehan in Montana, his parents Bill and Mag and sisters Teresa and Lena in Colorado, and many aunts, uncles, cousins, and friends. In Will’s memory, if you are the donating type, please consider the following recipients of the Bohemian Foundation’s generosity. You can make the donation in Will’s honor or memory by typing his name into the box on the donation page: Trees, Water and People: https://treeswaterpeople.org/donate First Peoples Fund: https://firstpeoplesfund.kindful.com/ Here are some things that Will might want you to read, experience, or listen to: Spotify – willthesoundguy https://www.loc.gov/resource/g3701e.ct003648r/ https://www.pipeaway.com/nara-deer-park-shinto-religion-of-bambi-love/ https://tonyschocolonely.com/us/en/child-labor-in-the-chocolate-industry https://www.cancer.net/navigating-cancer-care/prevention-and-healthy-living/cancer-screening https://dudeism.com/ Here is a list of artists Will worked with over the years – explore at your leisure • Tenacious D • The Beach Boys • Buckethead • GWAR • Dick Dale • Eric Johnson • Black Uhuru • Julian Marley • Veruca Salt • Los Lobos • Stephen Marley • Victor Wooten • 311 • Blind Melon • Method Man & Redman • Melvins • Master P • The Wailers • Less Than Jake • Eddie Izzard • Leon Hendrix • Pat Benatar • Kool & The Gang • Everlast • Murs • John Popper • Dweezil Zappa • Fishbone • Helmet • Les Claypool • Blackalicious • The Reverend Horton Heat • The English Beat • Béla Fleck • Mike Dillon • Jello Biafra • Soul Asylum • Bone Thugs-N-Harmony • Mighty Diamonds • Midnite • As I Lay Dying • The Skatalites • Reel Big Fish • North Mississippi Allstars • Charlie Hunter • Skerik • Karl Denson • That 1 Guy • Big Boi • Living Legends • Dashboard Confessional • Katy Perry • Israel Vibration • D.R.I. • John Brown's Body • Static-X • Nekromantix • Teenage Bottlerocket • Frankenstein Brothers • Aaron Carter • Cracker • ALL • Decendents • Jimmy Eat World • Giant Panda Guerilla Dub Squad • Meat Puppets • Dean Ween • Cary Morin • The Pimps of Joytime • Tech N9ne • G. Love & Special Sauce • Billy Strings • Jeff Austin • Devon Allman • Gogol Bordello • Thunder Body • Boombox • Brother Ali • Big Head Todd • Jimmy Herring • Dirty Dozen Brass Band • Gift of Gab • Kyle Gass Band • De La Soul • Guttermouth • Leon Russell • Kottonmouth Kings • Stanton Moore • Koffin Kats • Swollen Members • Macklemore & Ryan Lewis • Arlo Guthrie • Booker T. Jones • Easy Star All-Stars • DeVotchKa • Strung Out •Ani DiFranco • Lukas Nelson • Roger Clyne and the Peacemakers • Social Distortion • Robert Randolph • Joan Jett & The Blackhearts • Neil Giraldo • KC and The Sunshine Band • John Kay and Steppenwolf • Teena Marie • Nappy Roots • Margaret Cho • Krizz Kaliko • Lady Gaga • Jimmie Vaughan • Beck • Rusty Anderson • Devandra Banhart • Hopsin • Three 6 Mafia