1949
Sheryl
2009
Sheryl Alborn
August 10, 1949 — July 3, 2009
SHERYL ALBORN, 59, of Sioux Center, IA died Friday, July 3, 2009 at Royale Meadows Care Center in Sioux Center.
A memorial service will be held Friday, July 17th at 10AM at Royale Meadows Care Center in Sioux Center with Rev. R. Van Rathbun officiating.
A graveside committal service will be held Friday, July 17th at 2:30PM at the Laurens Cemetery of Laurens, IA with Rev. Sara Galindo officiating.
Sheryl was our daughter, sister, aunt, and friend.
When Sheryl was born on Aug. 10, 1949, Mom and Dad finally had their baby girl and a beautiful girl she was with curly brown hair and big blue eyes. She joined proud big brothers, Dennis and Dwight, at home on the farm and the Family was complete. Within the first year of her life, a doctors appointment went awry when Sheryl was given a measles immunization that caused an irrepairable cognitive impairment. Mom and Dad took her to specialists from Chicago to Denver looking for answers but all they came home with were stories from the waiting rooms where they had met other parents whose children had received the same serum. A cure was not to be but Sheryl, ever the stubborn German, never let her disability interfere with her dreams.
In her 59 years, Sheryl achieved many things. She attended Laurens Community Schools through sixth grade and would have graduated had she been born ten years later. When Sheryl went to school, the law that required schools to provide education to all students with disabilities through age 21 had not been passed. Determined that she learn as much as she could, Mom and Dad took over, teaching her how to cook, bake, clean, do laundry, help with farm chores, garden, and manage her money. Den and Dwight taught her to walk beans and pick up rocks. She was instrumental in keeping the farm running, and they loved her deeply and never wanted to let her go.
When Sheryl became a young adult, however, she had her own ideas. She loved the farm, but she desired a life she could call her own. Mom and Dad, Den and Dwight researched her options and found a loving new home for her at Hope Haven in Rock Valley, IA. Here, she could work, live independently, and experience life with others her own age. She made many new friends and learned a new trade -- painting wagon pins and packaging them for sale. She might have complained a time or two but, overall, she was proud of her work and, one year for Christmas, she gave everyone a beautifully-wrapped wagon pin, painted red and black. She later moved to Sioux Center and enjoyed her time at Franken Manor and Royale Meadows. A very special man in her life was her friend, Clarence. They shared many experiences, including a trip to Florida to see Den.
Sheryl really missed Dwight after he died in 1986 but stayed close to his family--wife Sue, new husband Michael and children Ashley and Jordanspending Christmas with them almost every year thereafter. Dads death in 1994 was hard on her, too. Sheryl was always daddys little girl, and she knew it. Den took Sheryl and Mom on vacations practically every year. She liked the redwood trees in California and the Black Hills, and she really liked the picnic lunches Mom packed for their trips. She also liked country music, home videos, and restaurants. A hamburger, french fries and malt would make her smile. So would popcorn, Moms coconut cookies, a floral bouquet from Den, and calls from Ash and JD. She would ask about her two new great nieces Randi Marie and Rylie Sue and she thought Jordans girlfriend Sarah was really pretty and Ashleys husband Josh handsome.
Sheryl grew to love the Lord and practiced her religion by attending the Central Reformed Church in Sioux Center. Like all of us, she had questions but chose to believe. We never dreamed we would lose Sheryl so young and it breaks our heart she had to suffer. She was a fighter, though, and with the help of her nurse and friend Marlys, she managed to buck the disease for two years. Three days before she passed, she saw Dad at the foot of her bed and Dwight throwing footballs. We knew the time was near and that Dad and Dwight had come to welcome her Home.
A memorial service will be held Friday, July 17th at 10AM at Royale Meadows Care Center in Sioux Center with Rev. R. Van Rathbun officiating.
A graveside committal service will be held Friday, July 17th at 2:30PM at the Laurens Cemetery of Laurens, IA with Rev. Sara Galindo officiating.
Sheryl was our daughter, sister, aunt, and friend.
When Sheryl was born on Aug. 10, 1949, Mom and Dad finally had their baby girl and a beautiful girl she was with curly brown hair and big blue eyes. She joined proud big brothers, Dennis and Dwight, at home on the farm and the Family was complete. Within the first year of her life, a doctors appointment went awry when Sheryl was given a measles immunization that caused an irrepairable cognitive impairment. Mom and Dad took her to specialists from Chicago to Denver looking for answers but all they came home with were stories from the waiting rooms where they had met other parents whose children had received the same serum. A cure was not to be but Sheryl, ever the stubborn German, never let her disability interfere with her dreams.
In her 59 years, Sheryl achieved many things. She attended Laurens Community Schools through sixth grade and would have graduated had she been born ten years later. When Sheryl went to school, the law that required schools to provide education to all students with disabilities through age 21 had not been passed. Determined that she learn as much as she could, Mom and Dad took over, teaching her how to cook, bake, clean, do laundry, help with farm chores, garden, and manage her money. Den and Dwight taught her to walk beans and pick up rocks. She was instrumental in keeping the farm running, and they loved her deeply and never wanted to let her go.
When Sheryl became a young adult, however, she had her own ideas. She loved the farm, but she desired a life she could call her own. Mom and Dad, Den and Dwight researched her options and found a loving new home for her at Hope Haven in Rock Valley, IA. Here, she could work, live independently, and experience life with others her own age. She made many new friends and learned a new trade -- painting wagon pins and packaging them for sale. She might have complained a time or two but, overall, she was proud of her work and, one year for Christmas, she gave everyone a beautifully-wrapped wagon pin, painted red and black. She later moved to Sioux Center and enjoyed her time at Franken Manor and Royale Meadows. A very special man in her life was her friend, Clarence. They shared many experiences, including a trip to Florida to see Den.
Sheryl really missed Dwight after he died in 1986 but stayed close to his family--wife Sue, new husband Michael and children Ashley and Jordanspending Christmas with them almost every year thereafter. Dads death in 1994 was hard on her, too. Sheryl was always daddys little girl, and she knew it. Den took Sheryl and Mom on vacations practically every year. She liked the redwood trees in California and the Black Hills, and she really liked the picnic lunches Mom packed for their trips. She also liked country music, home videos, and restaurants. A hamburger, french fries and malt would make her smile. So would popcorn, Moms coconut cookies, a floral bouquet from Den, and calls from Ash and JD. She would ask about her two new great nieces Randi Marie and Rylie Sue and she thought Jordans girlfriend Sarah was really pretty and Ashleys husband Josh handsome.
Sheryl grew to love the Lord and practiced her religion by attending the Central Reformed Church in Sioux Center. Like all of us, she had questions but chose to believe. We never dreamed we would lose Sheryl so young and it breaks our heart she had to suffer. She was a fighter, though, and with the help of her nurse and friend Marlys, she managed to buck the disease for two years. Three days before she passed, she saw Dad at the foot of her bed and Dwight throwing footballs. We knew the time was near and that Dad and Dwight had come to welcome her Home.
To order memorial trees in memory of Sheryl Alborn, please visit our tree store.
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