Sheryl A. Williams

Sheryl A. Williams, age 73, of Gahanna, Ohio was born on September 13, 1949, and passed away on Thursday, April 27, 2023. Sheryl ultimately passed from complications due to interstitial lung disease but celebrated a long, productive life enjoyed by her many good friends and family. She was born and raised in Brilliant, Ohio, by her parents Orval James “OJ” Williams of Indiana and Matilda Francis Mitan or “Tillie” of Ohio. Her father ran the local funeral home in Brillant, Ohio, and her mother was a homemaker who raised Sheryl and her younger brother Orval “Butch” Williams Jr., who all preceded her in death.

She graduated from the class of 1967 at Brilliant High School and went to Beauty School. She obtained her Bachelor’s Degree from The Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio in 1971, and has been a lifelong Ohio State Buckeyes fan ever since! She traveled to Europe after graduation and thought of becoming a teacher, and then worked briefly at a bank before working a full-time career at Ohio State University Library for 31 years. Her first husband was Wayne Barcalow also of Brilliant, Ohio, but they divorced and both later remarried. Sheryl met Jack Erwin of Columbus, Ohio, through mutual friends in 1976 on a blind date, and they married in 1978. They were happily married for 45 years, and Sheryl bravely took on the job of stepmother to help raise three children- Jack, Rhonda, and Amanda Erwin, all of whom became productive adults. Jack became a US Army Officer and schoolteacher and moved to the Chicago, Illinois area. Rhonda worked in computer science and married Dave of Belpre, Ohio, and they moved to Florida. Amanda Erwin went into real estate and lives and works as a successful realtor in Naples, FL. Sheryl is also survived by her two granddaughters, Annie and Evelyn Erwin. Annie is a student in the Have Dreams program in Wilmette, Illinois, and Evelyn is a student majoring in Biology and Art at Denison University in Granville, Ohio. Sheryl volunteered her time to the community by working as a Voice Corps reader of the Columbus Dispatch newspaper over the Radio on Saturdays. She volunteered at the nature center at Blacklick Metro Park in Columbus, Ohio. Sheryl also remained active in the community by volunteering to assist the Democratic Party and fighting for Women’s Rights in Franklin County Ohio. She loved gardening, hiking, and spending quality time with friends and family.