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Sherry Young, age 61, passed away on Saturday, December 11, 2021 in Swift Current, SK. Sherry Gail Young was born on December 3, 1960 to John & Gail Wotherspoon in Swift Current, SK. Since the day she was born, we think she has had a smile on her face. Sherry always knew how to make people laugh and could always laugh at herself.
While in high school, Sherry worked at Dixie Lunch and volunteered as a Candy Striper. At the young age of 17, she started working in the kitchen at the Palliser Regional Care Centre. She then moved to physiotherapy and became a special care aide, where she eventually got her certificate. While still working, Sherry attended college and received her LPN in 2006. She also maintained part-time positions in Moose Jaw, SK at Providence Place, Okimaw Ohci Healing Lodge in Maple Creek, SK, and in Fort Qu’Appelle, SK at the Healing Hospital. She maintained a full-time position at the Cypress Hills Regional Hospital starting in medical surgery, day surgery, and then dialysis.
Sherry raised two wonderful boys — Desmond and Timothy “TJ” — on her own while pursuing her career in healthcare. Sherry always made sure her boys never went without and made so many sacrifices to make sure they were taken care of. She even did their school work, just to make sure they got through high school and could move out on their own.
Sherry never asked for anything, and never wanted anything either. When it came to herself, she was, as Desmond put it, cheap, cheap, cheap. She never wanted to spend a dime on herself and would always say that she could get by with what she was given. However, when it came to others, Sherry never stopped giving. She was a huge supporter of her church and hosted many church suppers, she loved to help out in any way she could. She was also a supporter for Teen Challenge, Rock Solid Refuge, and TWR.
Besides raising her own two sons, Sherry supported anyone she could. Her door was always open — whether it be for coffee, a cry, or just for a visit, she was a confidant to so many people. There were no hearts left untouched by Sherry, she especially loved her friend and biggest confidante, Ruby. She always said she could not keep up with Ruby and they always expressed how blessed they were to have one another.
Though we all know how much she loved her boys, Sherry’s biggest joy was her granddaughter, Gwyn. They had a bond that we were all in awe of, and Sherry even had Gwyn praying for her wrinkles to go away.
Sherry retired on September 1, 2021 after over 40 years in healthcare and she was so excited to have more time to spend with her precious granddaughter. However, Sherry’s big heart would not let her forget about her overworked and understaffed colleagues, as well as her patients. Even though she was not too pleased about creating a resume, having an interview, and completing training, Sherry went back to work to help those she cared about. She loved her patients so much and was brought to tears as she decorated her Christmas tree this year, looking at ornaments from patients and holding those memories so dear. She was consoled by her granddaughter with a rub on the back, telling her it’s going to be ok.
When thinking of Sherry’s interests, it became very apparent that it was people, people, people. She loved to take care of people and make sure that everyone felt comfortable and like they belonged. She made it known that she always had room for one more at her table — there was always a lot of extras to make sure that everyone was fed and that they left with a little care package.
Kids always flocked to Sherry, she knew how to give them the attention they needed and engaged with them like no other. Everyone always wanted to hear Auntie Sherry “Ooooh” and “Aaaaah” about how great their talents were. And it wasn’t just the kids who left Sherr’s feeling more important and loved, it was literally everyone.
She had a gift for public speaking and was always the go-to person to speak at weddings, family gatherings, and funerals. She spoke so naturally and truthfully that she always captured everyone’s attention and reached all the way to their hearts.
You could always count on Sherry to make up silly songs on the spot, which probably came from her ability to create poetry.
No matter what happened, you could always count on Sherry forgiving you.
She never wanted anyone to be left out, it was common to see new friends join us for a holiday meal, who more than likely would become a part of Sherry’s always growing family. No one ever left empty-handed — she always made sure you left with more food than what you came with, whether it was a present or some extra food.
Sherry had such a positive attitude, however, when she decided she wanted something done, she wanted it done right now. Once Sherry moved to her new house, where she could actually grow and keep grass, flowers, and plants alive — she created an oasis. She took so much pride in her beautiful yard, sometimes driving her boys nuts as she could be demanding. Whether it was to get TJ to cut grass in +44 weather, or have them planting flowers among flowers, even when there was no room for more flowers. Even Grandma Gail would comment, “I don’t know where she is going to put all those flowers.” But Sherry always found a place, whether it was in her yard or making baskets for others.
Sherry became excited when she realized that the garden centers would call her when a fresh order of flowers came in. One day, she received a call at work, letting her know about a new shipment. So, Sherry hurried out on her lunch break and grabbed some fresh flowers, dropped them off at home, and hurried back to work.
Sherry always put others before herself. A great example of this was a couple years ago when she was hosting Thanksgiving. No one knew at the time, but Sherry was incredibly sick with the stomach flu — so sick, that she had to sneak off to her bedroom and use her ensuite, while everyone was oblivious to her being sick. She later told family how sick she was, but that there was no way she was going to cancel Thanksgiving on her account.
Every summer, Sherry made sure to take her boys on some kind of trip. Whether it was camping at the Sask Landing or Cypress Hills, or taking them on a big trip, Sherry always made sure she was making memories with her family.
Sherry was especially proud to take her boys to Disneyland. They remember walking and walking and walking to the Crystal Cathedral. Now, this was a place Sherry really wanted to see in person, because if she wasn’t at church on Sunday, you could guarantee she was watching sermons from the Crystal Cathedral on TV. However, even though they were getting closer, and the cathedral was getting bigger and bigger, Sherry realized it was still too far for them to get to, so she made the boys turn around and start walking back. On their extremely long walk back, they stopped at a cool T-shirt store. Now, the boys knew better than to ask mom to buy them something, but they were happily surprised when she made them get a shirt. Well, it started with a shirt, but by the time they got back to their hotel, their arms were full of souvenirs from the shops.
Another memory the boys shared was when they were stopped at LAX to fly back to Canada. They remember hearing over the intercom, many times, do not buy from solicitors. Not long after, they were approached by some southern gentlemen, telling Sherry, “Ma’am, we have the best pies. Ma’am, please buy our pies. Ma’am, the pies will help people, they are for the Lord.” Sherry replies, “You don’t have to tell me about the Lord, but I’ll buy two pies.” No one knows how, but Sherry got these pies onto the plane. She asked the stewardess if she could have a knife so she could slip up the pie. We aren’t sure what kind of plastic cutlery she got, but the next thing you know, Sherry is handing out pieces of pie to strangers on the plane.
As her boys got older, Sherry started to take trips with her friends, Jim & Roberta Barber, Dawn, and Ron to Mexico, California, Jamaica, the Dominican Republic, Niagara Falls, Toronto, and the East Coast.
As we try to comprehend our loss, and we reflect on the life of Sherry, we are overwhelmed by how big of an impact she has had and how wonderful of a person she was. There will never be enough time or words to describe her, because there is no way anyone could adequately sum up her beautiful life of 61 years.
Sherry was predeceased by her parents, John Stanley and Gail Annette Wotherspoon; and by her sister, Sandra Anne Wotherspoon.
Sherry is survived by her sons, Timothy John “TJ” Young and Desmond Young; her beloved granddaughter, Gwyn Patricia Young; her siblings, Brian (Dolores) Wotherspoon and Lisa (Dallas) Brumwell; and by numerous nieces, nephews, grand-nieces, grand-nephews, adopted family, and friends.
The Funeral Service for Sherry Young was held on Saturday, December 18, 2021 at 1:30 pm from Trailview Alliance Church, Swift Current, SK with Pastor Bryon Bezanson and Pastor Travis Archer officiating. “When We All Get to Heaven” and “Away in a Manger” were sung by the congregation under the leadership of Pastor Bryon, with Marilyn Ginther serving as pianist. Special music was brought by Oren Anderson, who sang “Amazing Grace” and Jackie Lomax, who sang “In the Sweet By and By.” The eulogy was given by Harvey Lomax. A photo presentation was given by the family. Desmond Young and Gwyn Young served as Urnbearers.
In memory of Sherry Young, donations made to Teen Challenge Saskatchewan and Rock Solid Refuge would be appreciated by the family.
To view the recorded service, please click here
To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Sherry Young, please visit our floral store.
Rock Solid Refuge
Box 1622, Shaunavon, SK, S0N 2M0,
Tel: (306) 297-3663
Web: rocksolidrefuge.com/
Teen Challenge Saskatchewan
PO Box 21111, Saskatoon SK S7H 5N9
Tel: 1-306-664-4673
Email: info@tcsk.ca
Web: http://www.tcsk.ca/