Sunday, December 19, 2021
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I am so sorry to learn of your passing, Sherry. You were my friend and fellow teacher at Bent Mountain Elementary. We worked together for most of the 7 years I taught there. You were always learning new methods and strategies to teach your children. You were so willing to share whatever you knew and that helped me to be a better teacher, too. For several years we both taught in the "curriculum cottage" (trailer). You had one room for your 4th graders, and I had the other room for my 5th graders. If I were worried about a lesson or teaching the SOL's, you would say something that made me laugh, such as "Well, don't get your knickers in a knot!" You helped me to feel less stress, and then I could keep working. I wonder how many, many extra hours you spent doing lesson plans, helping a child one-on-one, checking students' work, and the list goes on. All the untold hours you gave without being paid for any of those extra hours. You truly loved to teach. You did it exceptionally well.
Mary Oliver, poet, wrote, "In the midst of illness, death and fear; still though we should dance."
I'll see you again one day in heaven, doing just that: dancing! You'll probably be sewing costumes, too. If I ask, I know you'll try to teach me how to learn the steps. You made such beautiful apparel for students of the Southwest Virginia Ballet. Your varied talents and unflagging energy helped so many others. You are missed. I am grateful, my friend, that you were part of my life.
