Sherri Phillips Merritt

Dr. Sherri Phillips Merritt of Cary, NC, died unexpectedly on June 13, 2012. Sherri was born in Huntsville, AL, on January 25, 1965. She was a 1983 graduate of Cary High School and graduated from Campbell University in 1987 where she was Student Government President. She received her Masters and Doctorate degrees at North Carolina State University. She taught High School in the Wake County Public School System for 14 years and was an Assistant Professor at The University of North Carolina at Greensboro for 5 years. For the past 7 years she has been with the Wake County Public School System Central Office and for the past few years she was Director of K-12 Literacy.

Sherri is survived by her loving husband Phillip; daughter Molly; son Jamie; parents James M. Phillips and Marilyn Thigpen Phillips of Cary, NC; brother Jay, his wife Sandy and nephews Jason and Dylan Phillips, all of Apex, NC; brother-in-law Chris Merritt, niece Madison and nephew Jake, all of El Paso, TX; brother-in-law Geoff Merritt of Atlanta, GA; sister-in-law Mary Louise Merritt of Winston Salem, NC. She is also survived by her aunts: Carol (Charles) Reynolds, Alicia (Chuck) Conner, Gwen (Mike) Michael, Jean (Brooks) Durham, and Sharon Thigpen, all of Huntsville, AL; Beth Thigpen and Callie Bell, both of Madison, WI; Vivian Hollingsworth, Marilyn (Taylor) Wright and Janie Henson, all of Huntsville, AL; uncles: Billy Phillips of Huntsville, AL and Ricky (Patsy) Phillips of Martin, TN; and numerous cousins.

Sherri was a voracious reader and always instilled the love of reading in her students. She was a loving wife, daughter, mother, aunt and friend. After meeting Sherri for the first time, a friend stated, “It was clear to me after a brief time, what a kind, patient and special person she was. She truly had the heart of a teacher and I know she made such an impact on so many lives.”

Visitation will be from 7:00-9:00 p.m. on Friday, June 15, 2012 at Brown-Wynne Funeral Home, 200 S.E. Maynard Road, Cary, NC 27511. The funeral service will be held Saturday, June 16, 2012 at 11:00 a.m. at Pullen Memorial Baptist Church, 1801 Hillsborough Street, Raleigh, NC 27605. Burial will follow at Wake Memorial Park, 7002 Green Hope School Road, Cary, NC 27519. A graveside service will be held 10:00 a.m. Saturday, August 11, 2012 at Wake Memorial Park.

In lieu of flowers, please make donations to the Dr. Sherri Merritt Literacy Scholarship Fund, c/o Wake Education Partnership.

Condolences may be sent through www.brownwynnecary.com