Port Arthur shooting victim killed by husband known for humor and heart; celebration in her honor is being planned

Published 4:17 pm Monday, June 5, 2023

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Sheryl McMinn was in her first year at IHop and working in a leadership development program when her life was taken.

A former nurse who changed careers, Sheryl had just clocked out from the Port Arthur location at 3 p.m. Saturday and was at the drive-through at Capital One Bank when her husband, Harold McMinn, 57, pulled up perpendicular in front of her and stepped of his vehicle and began firing shots.

Justice of the Peace Brad Burnett said the man got closer to the car and fired the weapon again. Burnett said he saw two bullet holes in the windshield.

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The woman suffered a fatal gunshot wound to the head and died at the scene.

The man then got back in his car and drove a short distance in the parking lot, then shot himself in the head.

He was taken to CHRISTUS Southeast Texas St. Elizabeth in Beaumont, where he died.

Burnett ordered autopsies on Sheryl McMinn and Harold McMinn.

Robert Tomlinson, president of IHop franchise group of 12 restaurants, said the death of Sheryl McMinn is a tragic loss.

“We’re a family. We’re a family together, we’re a family apart and we take care of each other,” Tomlinson said.

He described Sheryl as a good human being who loved to laugh.

“I teach my people no matter what you’re doing, have fun,” he said. “We’re always having fun, poking jokes. The guests loved her and the teammates loved her.”

Tomlinson said his staff is grieving the loss of Sheryl.

“She wouldn’t want us to be sitting around. The team decided, in the next couple of weeks we will have a celebration. Have the type of gathering she would have wanted us to do. I’m letting them decide what they want to do and I’m supporting it,” he said.

Tomlinson said Sheryl knew he enjoyed Diet Pepsi and when he’d visit, she’d already have one sitting at his table before he got there. She had a special heart, he added.

“If we had more Sheryls in the world, it’d be a better place,” he said.

Port Arthur Police Chief Tim Duriso previously told Port Arthur Newsmedia no one else was injured during the shootings, adding the violence was domestic in nature and the bank was not involved in the fatal altercation.