Sherry Ann Kelly

Carolina. Her example of profound empathy and a dedication to uplifting the marginalized,

leaves an indelible mark on the hearts of all who knew her.

Her parents were Moses and Eva Johnson of Glendale California. Survivors are her husband

Robert; children, Matthew (Mary Sorensen) and Sarah; foster children, San (Sokha), and

Phandoeun ( Ross); brother, David; sister, Janet; grandchildren: Violet, Tess, Jordan,

Isabelle, and Phoebe; and foster grandchildren: Wondong,Vannarith, Yin, Nita, Benjamin,

Elaine, and Erika.

Sherry’s formative years in Ketchum and Pocatello, Idaho, profoundly shaped her character.

Sherry’s recently completed semi-autographical novel, “Saving Lady,” is a window on the life

she lived with her her mother and three siblings through a rugged winter in the Sawtooth

mountain town of Ketchum, a town where ranchers and miners still tied up their horses to

railings on main street.. Owing to her father’s disability, their very survival rested on their

mother’s grit and constant spirit. The novel opens with a true event. In which Sherry and her

sister Janet, walking home from school between high banks of recently plowed snow, rescue

a wounded puppy from a snowbank–a victim of an accidental sweep by a snowplow. With

their mother”s delicate guidance in how the puppy is to be cared for they nurture the puppy

they name “Lady” back to health. Through many other occasions that follow we see that the

title,“Saving Lady” also refers to the mother who “saves” her family. The story teaches the

preciousness of life and the necessity of dedicated and intelligent individual intervention

when no other aid is available,lessons which guided Sherry throughout her life.

In Pocatello, her family faced more difficult challenges, as the father’s psychological

challenges worsened. Her mother was frequently on welfare and earned money by cleaning

businesses. In high school Sherry became virtually self-supporting through work for a

chicken ranch, selling fresh and fried chickens in the family drive through. She excelled in

high school academically and in athletics as a member of the varsity tennis team. After

graduating, she spent one year at Idaho State College, in Pocatello, and transferred to the

University of Oregon,Eugene where she earned a degree in English. She met her future

husband, Robert Kelly there. They married in 1964 and, in 1968, moved, together with a newborn

baby boy, Matthew, to Greensboro, where Robert, having completed his doctorate, joined the

UNCG faculty. With the opportunity to further her education at UNCG, Sherry earned

certification in English, completed a second major in Environmental Science and, later in her

career, a master's degree in counseling, thereby preparing her to make a significant impact in

her community

Sherry's career as a teacher of English as a Second Language was distinguished by her

commitment to students facing cultural and economic challenges, particularly refugees. She

extended her support beyond the classroom by getting to know each of her students and, as

needed, their families. One almost universal problem among war refugee students was a lack

of money for dental care. Sherry approached her own dentist to request his pro bono help for

a particularly needy student and he willingly gave it, and took on similar patients. Before long

other dentists had been drawn into the effort, with volunteers enlisted to drive students to

their appointments, to the benefit of a number of refugee families.

In some cases she became directly involved with a family’s health care needs. A young girl

revealed to her that her mother was dying of stage 4 cancer, and one of her four brothers

needed kidney dialysis.The family was foundering. Besides serving as an advocate for the

girl, Sherry became a friend to the dying mother and visited her frequently. She also drove

the son to his dialysis treatments at Baptist Hospital in Winston-Salem. After the girl had

graduated and married, Sherry paid for the tool set the husband needed to begin his job as a

mechanic.

Her dedication to the refugee community also shone brightly through her efforts in organizing

soccer for refugee boys.. Sherry personally signed up children for team soccer, solicited

donations for uniforms and shoes, and spent countless afternoons and evenings driving them

to soccer practice. Her dedication provided these children not just with physical activity, but

also with a sense of belonging by playing on equal terms against other teams in the

Greensboro Youth Soccer League.

While meeting the needs as a wife and mother and of her career, Sherry was actively

involved in The League of Women Voters, and held leadership roles, especially in the 1980s,

and with a poetry group organized and led by Karen Filipski, the members of which became

among her closests friends in her later years. Sherry drew praise for two different groups of

poems–rather dark poems based on the problems her family faced in Ketchum and

Pocatello, and happy poems for children, often based on children's active play. Her poem.

“Sidewalks,” won first place in the category of children’s literature, in a Triad competition.

Like her mother, Sherry was a “saving lady", in her direct care of children and families in need;

her advocacy for refugee children, exemplifies a legacy of love, resilience, and a belief in the

power of community support. Her life story is a reminder of the profound impact one person

can have on the lives of many. Her memory will be forever cherished, and her legacy will

continue to inspire acts of kindness and community service in those she touched.

The family wishes to thank the friends of Sherry who have offered comfort through many

acts of kindness; also: Dr. Ellison and the devoted nurses at Wesley Long Hospital; the

Home Instead caregivers who were at her bedside–Vivian Freeman, Jessica Nicula, and

Michaela Seagraves, among others; Monsignor Anthony Marccaccio, who offered great

comfort in performing the Last Rites and made available a remarkable staff at St. Pius X; who

helped plan Sherry’s funeral service; and finally Erin Geary and her staff at Hanes Lineberry

who have eased our way as we have grieved.