Shanks, Sherry J (nee Werner) Found peace on June 26, 2022. Sherry is survived by her husband and best friend Dennis, daughters Dr. Amber Beckley Larsson (Erik MD), Robyn L. Dahl (Nick); grandchildren, Fiona, Alex, Jude and sister Cindy and brother Dean. Best and dearest friend Mary Ellen Lukezich, "mom" to pets Baxter, BJ, Lucy, and Ethel. From Sherry's Daughters: Hello, As you may know, our mom passed away on June 26th. On July 8th, we will be having a wake at Boerner Garden House from 11AM to 1PM. Please come share memories of Sherry. Refreshments will be served. Date: July 8, 2022 Time: 11AM to 1PM Location: Boerner Botanical Gardens Boerner Garden House 9400 Boerner Dr. Hales Corners, WI 53130. Sincerely, Amber and Robyn Donations to the following will be appreciated: The Guest House, Milwaukee Hope House Food Bank, Milwaukee Habitat for Humanity A Life I Loved My parents, Adolph and Shirlee Werner, and my sister Cindy lived in Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin when I was born on December 8, 1950. Nothing from that time in my life is in my memory. We all moved to Big Bend, Wisconsin when I was 2. Our house was on a farm that was owned by a man who worked at the same place as my dad. I always thought Mr. Silver, the owner, was dad's boss, but he may not have been. What I remember most about the farm was being free to roam around in fields and the woods with my sister or alone, as I got older. She had a friend named Sally and they liked to be not-so-nice older kids with me. They tied me to a tree and Cindy road over me on her bike! She told mom that I asked her to do it and maybe I did! We had a playhouse of sorts set up in a silo. There was a hay barn and an area for cows near that. I don't think the cows were around too long, or at least they didn't make much of an impression on me. The Fox river ran through the farm and we ice skated there in the winter and swam in it in the summer. Even now, nearly 70 years later, I remember making a "house" by trampling down the hay in the field and leaving my jacket there, never to be seen again. Mom wasn't at all happy with me. She also wasn't happy with me for using my bedroom wallpaper as a coloring book, or snooping in my dad's old army trunk that was in a closet connecting my bedroom with mom and dad's bedroom. Our living room had a bay window with a curtain across it. It was a perfect stage and I thought I was a great actress. My family was forced to watch me perform very often, on that stage and also on our porch. I was a ham and made up all kinds of funny stories. It wasn't good, I think, but my family was kind and didn't tell me I wasn't funny. When I was seven, we moved to Waukesha, Wisconsin. It was a real city but we lived in a subdivision a few miles outside of town in a house that was huge to me at first. There was a large yard and neighbors at the back of the house who had a daughter my age. All of the children in the neighborhood played together, swinging, riding bikes and just being kids. The school we went to was about a mile away and we could walk there through the woods when the weather was nice. It was a small school and only had 5 classrooms if I remember that right. There weren't many children in my class - fewer than 12, and we all had to bring our own lunches to school. During recess, we played on the playground equipment or played baseball and ran around chasing each other. I was one of the fastest runners and also one of the best spellers! I went to that school until seventh grade and then we had to take a bus to Waukesha to middle school, or junior high school as it was called then. That was a big change. From eighth grade until I got a job when I was 16, I rode the school bus. After school, there were a few activities I took part in and that meant my mom or dad would pick me up. One year on my birthday, my mom forgot to come and get me! I was pretty sad. Most of high school was fun. I worked on the school yearbook and when I was in my last year of school, I was the copy editor of it which meant that I had to write a lot. Grandpa Dennis also went to the same school and we became girlfriend and boyfriend when I was 14. Gosh, I really thought I was in love and we even talked about running away to Kentucky to get married. Obviously that didn't happen, but it sure is strange that we moved to Kentucky after we did finally get married. Life is funny like that. After only one year in college, I did get married to a man named Mike. We moved from Waukesha to West Bend, WI and then to Kewaskum, WI. He was a German teacher at the high school in Kewaskum and I worked for the telephone company. My job was typing orders into a teletype machine. I don't think there are any of those left. During that time, I was involved with the small local theater group and had roles in a few plays. It was great! One year, Mike and I were lucky enough to take a group of the students on a trip to Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Then a few years later, Mike became a teacher at a school in Germany. I lived there too, but only for 15 months. When we both were together again in the United States, we moved to Madison, WI and both of us returned to university. He went to classes and I did too, but also worked as a nursing assistant in a nursing home, which I'd done in high school also. After eight years of marriage, we got divorced because our lives were going in different directions. While he remained in Madison, I moved to Milwaukee to start another chapter of my life. The different jobs I had during that time aren't very clear in my mind. I worked in another nursing home, for a travel agency and for a bank. I also continued going to the university and finally graduated in 1979 with a bachelors degree in international relations. Aunt Cindy and I lived together for awhile and Uncle Dean and I went to UW Milwaukee at the same time. It was a fun time. Grandpa Larry and I met when I lived with Cindy, but he wanted to date Cindy, not me! It was ok because I was dating his friend, who lived next door to me and Cindy and Cindy had a boyfriend too. Thanks to Larry and a loan from him, I was able to go to Russia on a trip with other students from the university. Larry and I became boyfriend and girlfriend and got married in October 1979. Amber was born in 1981 and I quit my full time job and found a job at night so I could be home while Larry was at work and then he could stay home while I worked. We lived in a small house in a poor area of Milwaukee until we were able to buy the house where Grandpa Larry still lives. It seemed like a mansion to us! Robyn was born in 1986 and our family was complete. I think we had a wonderful life there with nice neighbors and a bunch of kids nearby for Amber and Robyn to play with. When I was nearly 40, I decided to start jogging. Running in races was fun but I was never very good. Amazingly, I did manage to finish two triathlons though. While living there, I got a job with Schenker...a German freight forwarder and customs broker. My job was to arrange transportation for goods going from the United States to many countries throughout the world. I loved being able to get to know colleagues in so many places. It was almost as good as traveling. Sadly, I left Grandpa Larry and we got divorced. It was a bad time for him, for Amber and for Robyn. In the end, I think Grandpa Larry became happy again by meeting new friends in community theater. Amber and Robyn made it through school ok, staying one week with their dad and the next week with me. I hope they've forgiven me for making their lives miserable for awhile. In 1998, Dennis and I met one another again after not having seen each other for nearly 20 years. We still had a connection and decided we should try being a couple again! We got married in 2002 and just celebrated our 20th wedding anniversary. Probably our best trip, other than our honeymoon, was to England. His boss paid for the trip and for tickets to see tennis at Wimbledon, as a reward for his many years at work. We bought the farm in Kentucky in 2005, but couldn't move there right away because we both were still working. I retired in 2007 and moved to Kentucky while Dennis stayed behind in Madison in an apartment. He was able to come to the farm every other week and eventually got to work at home in Kentucky. At first it was hard to live there because the people around us weren't very well educated and we had nothing in common with them. As time went by, we met other "transplants" who had moved to rural Kentucky from other states. We also became involved in a tennis league where we met bunches of fun people. I was able to play tennis with some other ladies too. After we put in the pool, we'd see our friends a lot during the summer. I wonder why? Everyone loved being in and around the pool. Dennis and I didn't mind being alone at home, but then the friends we were closest to began moving away. It was hard for me and I started feeling lonely. There had been a lot of trips, either together or alone, to places like Hilton Head, SC, Branson, MO, Palm Springs, CA, Burbank, CA, San Francisco, CA, Durham, NC, Asheville, NC, Puerto Rico, Jamaica and of course, Sweden! Other places and cities I've visited: Boston, New York, Washington, DC, the Badlands, Mount Rushmore, the Amana colonies in Iowa, San Diego, Disneyland and Disney World, Atlanta, Chicago, Springfield, IL., Paris, Riga, Helsinki, Hamburg and several other German cities. There aren't too many states that I did travel through except those in the far northeast and far northwest. My family took a three week trip to Mexico when I was 13 and we had a camping trip to Canada, too. I loved to travel and see new places and people. One place I wish I could have visited is Greece. Since I've seen so many other wonderful places, I'm not sad. Now I wish I could see my family more, but I understand that it's not always possible. My life has been full of wonderful family, friends and sights. I'm so grateful! Be sure to let your loved ones know that you love them! Hold me in your heart.