Sheryl was born 5-16-68 in Arkansas, moved to Kansas City (Biggest Chiefs Fan) when she was little and then moved to Minneapolis where she spent 25 years in the hotel industry.​

She accomplished many things in life, but she was most proud of her three wonderful children, Bret, Crystal, and Trent, as well as her “bonus children” Ashley and Alex. Watching them grow into the fantastic people they are today was truly her greatest achievement.

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Sheryl had an unrelenting passion for philanthropy. She was an incredible advocate for people in need.  Always volunteering for different causes, always raising money to help people, always taking a moment to lend a hand when one was needed, no matter what the cause. 

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In 2013, I met Sheryl as I was doing a presentation for my company. We kept in touch for about a year and when she relocated to San Diego, CA.  Sheryl and I started casually “long-distance” dating until she got a job offer in Sacramento in 2015. 

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At that point, Sheryl moved in with me (I don’t know how I talked her into that) and we got a puppy and named her Shasta after our favorite family vacation spot. And talk about being into physical fitness. Not only did Sheryl rise very early in the morning (4 a.m. ... did I mention she was a little crazy?) to work out every day, but she also was very proud of becoming a “Spartan” and did all their races for many years.

 

One of our favorite things to do together was traveling and experiencing new culture, food, and wine. We traveled all over the world together including Santorini, Paris, Monte Carlo, Jamaica, Mexico, Canada, and many places across America.

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I knew Sheryl was the one for me. I had no idea how I got so lucky, and somehow this beautiful woman felt the same for me. So, of course, I asked Sheryl to marry me in Punta Mita in October 2020. It was one of the happiest moments of our lives. Little did we know that a mere two days later our world would be turned upside down when we found out she had Stage-4 Colon Cancer.

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This wasn’t going to stop us. We knew we had a fight ahead of us, but Sheryl was so strong and tackled it much like she did with everything else in her life… head-on and with the attitude of winning in the end. We immediately started treatment to include radiation and chemo therapies. The plan was to do these therapies for six months, shrink the tumor, then operate and have it removed. In July 2021, after months of treatment, Sheryl had a successful surgery to remove the tumor.

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From there, our story takes a turn. A few weeks later, we got a call from her doctor with inconceivable news. The piece of tumor they sent to the Mayo Clinic (they do this with all tumors), had traits of a rare cancer called Metastatic Neuroendocrine. Only 12,000 people get this type of cancer each year, and most do not survive. This was absolutely devastating news to us. Sheryl still didn’t let it break her. She continued to fight hard with everything she had for the next month. Through all her efforts, this horrible disease took over and Sheryl lost her battle on September 4, 2021.

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This is not where Sheryl’s story ends. Quite the contrary, Sheryl touched the lives of so many through her courage, her unrelenting ability to love, and the bright light of everything she was to everyone lucky enough to know her that she lives on in our hearts and minds. There is not a day that goes by that I’m not reminded about Sheryl’s effect on me. She made me a better partner, friend, and father. She will always be remembered as a great mother, advocate for others, and a very caring, warm, and loving person.

 

Our mission is to advocate for those that are put into a situation of need or comfort, with little or no hope, those who don’t know their next steps and those who need someone to be Sheryl Strong.