Sunday, August 20, 2017

"Aunt Sherrye"

“The most painful state of being is remembering the future, particularly the one you'll never have.”― Søren Kierkegaard

I tried to think of some inspirational, thought provoking introduction to the comments below…but everything came out soaked in depression and sadness, so I simply choose to leave you with the above quote, and the remarks I made at my Aunt, Sherrye Chambers' funeral.


For those that are receiving these for the first time, it is my hope that the memories and comments are below can remind you of fond times that you also shared with this wonderful person, and that they can also inspire you to live an extraordinary life, just as she did.

 “Aunt Sherrye”

I guess you could say I had a normal childhood… days spent at Northside Baptist Pre-K, afternoons watching Barney the dinosaur and playing with my hot wheels cars.  I rode my tricycle and dug in the dirt. But, when I was 5 the greatest influence in my life walked through the door at 2427 Madison Drive and, much to my mother’s dismay, I haven’t been the same since.

Sherrye Chambers was back in Tifton and I was instantly her protégé…her “little boy” it impart wisdom and knowledge…My family are all rolling their eyes at that last statement.

But Sherrye did teach me so much…

She taught me that there was more on TV than a purple dinosaur. While other kids were learning their ABC’s on Sesame Street, I was catching up on the latest escapades of Blanche, Rose, Dorothy, and Sophia on the Golden Girls…Learning how to give a Julia Sugarbaker-style tirade on Designing Women, and laughing at the antics of Vicki Lawrence and Carol Burnette on re-runs of Mama’s Family…all while piled up in Sherrye’s bed with 2 Pekingese dogs, our very best good friend Sheemo, aka Sheen Mitchell Rodgers, and my grandmother.

She Imparted on me her taste in music…While other 5 year olds were forcing their parents to listen to kiddie sing-alongs and Disney soundtracks I was taught to appreciate Journey, Bob Segar, Michael Bolton, Aaron Neville, Whitney Houston, Mariah Carey, Celine Dion, Cher…but most importantly…the best songs ever written were Sherrye by Frankie Valley and the Four Seasons and Oh Sherry by Steve Perry. I can still hear her telling me “Little boy, this was the best song ever written, and the only way to listen to it is with all the windows rolled down, sunroof back, and volume maxed out” … we would listen to that song endlessly and fly down I75 letting the wind blow through the car…and other times while my grandmother was cooking supper Sherrye would play another one of her favorites – the cover of “Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me” by Gloria Estefan and we would dance through the Den…Me standing on a beige ottoman so I could hold her hands.

Sherrye also taught me to drive. On one of our adventures we were returning home, and as we turned on to Camellia drive she scooped me up and put me in her lap and said “Little boy, lets teach you how to drive!” we made it about a block before I jerked the wheel to the right and we ended up in the ditch. Later, I was 17 and she and I were taking off for a week in North Georgia. Dad told Sherrye and I both that I could drive on 75 to the Tanger Outlet Mall, but we had to get off there and Sherrye had to drive us through Atlanta. Sherrye rolled her eyes but she obliged. As we pulled back on the interstate in McDonnough…sherrye now at the wheel...I remember her pulling the seat up as close to the steering wheel as she could go, turning up the radio and saying “little boy, THIS is how you drive through Atlanta” and proceeded to hit 90 miles an hour in the HOV lane screaming and gesturing at anyone who got in her way” I’m pretty sure that’s not the lesson that dad intended for me to have, but it’s the one I got and my friends will tell you that it’s the one that stuck.

She trained me to be a stealth shopper. She would often quote Sheen and say “little boy, if you think you want something, but aren’t sure put it back…then come shopping again tomorrow…if it’s still there it was meant to be and you need to buy it”. There was never a better shopper than Sherrye…I quickly learned to appreciate a TJ Maxx, Tuesday Morning, and a Belk’s Two-Day sale.

In relation to shopping Sherrye also created her own style. There was the year, when she was teaching at Ben-Hill High she made it a personal goal to never wear the same outfit twice…I remember coming by after class at ABAC and my grandmother declaring “Do you know how many pairs of Capri Pants Sherrye Has!? I counted them today and she has 180 pairs!!” I just laughed because that was Sherrye…determined to do something her way, regardless of what you thought. The last time Sherrye and I went shopping I bought this bold dark plaid shirt, here at the Tifton Belk’s, and Sherrye shared with me that when she taught in Commerce she had gone to Atlanta to Rich’s Department Store to buy a pair of plaid pants, very similar to the shirt I had, and when she made it to school that day the one person in that school that she couldn’t stand had on the same pair of pants, and it made Sherrye furious…that afternoon she threw them in the trash.  During Football season, if you didn’t watch the Bulldogs play on Saturday and went to church on Sunday, all you had to do was look at Sherrye to see if the Bulldogs had won. If they had a victory Sherrye was decked Head to toe in Georgia bulldogs. Mascot jewelry, a red shirt and black plaid pants….and even a UGA purse at one point! Sherrye was the dawgs biggest fan if they won, and their biggest critic if they lost. As a kid I fondly remember her rule when the dogs played. She would turn on the TV and mute the noise and then bring her clock radio in the den and turn on Larry Munson and she and my grandfather would yell cheers and criticisms at the top of her lungs.

Sherrye also passed on her love of plants. While I may not be quite the gardener she was, she was always so proud of her flowers & loved sharing them with others. I remember digging in the dirt with her on time and suddenly 2 eyes appeared. Just knowing it was a snake, Sherrye said “little boy, go get the gun out of my bed side table” She fired a shot into the hole….that poor frog never stood a chance. Many years later she decided to plant a rose garden next to my grandfather’s shop. For a year or two she gathered beautiful roses of various colors from that garden, but, by the third year my grandfather was tired of mowing around it so he just plowed it over with his lawn mower…I am so thankful that Sherrye had beautiful flowers once again at her funeral from all of our wonderful family and friends.

I could go on for hours about all the things Sherrye taught me…because that is what she did. She was a teacher, and a dang good one. Sherrye was name Star Teacher three different times, and was a Tift County Teacher of Excellence the last year that she taught before cancer forced her into retirement. She had the reputation of being the toughest chemistry and physical science teacher around…but this was only because Sherrye knew that by pushing her students she was not just preparing them to succeed in their secondary education, but that once they passed her test, so to speak, they could excel at anything.

When we realized that the end would a matter of days, I started trying to think what I would say that would please Sherrye and mean something to her friends and family…I wanted to impart her wisdom and give you all something to mentally keep with you, and as I drove back to Tifton on Wednesday from a business trip I was racking my brain thinking that I would never be able to capture what Sherrye’s final teaching lesson would be to all of us today…and then, almost as if she was in the passenger seat, I could hear her voice saying “Little boy, I prepared you your whole life for this…you tell them to live like I taught you to live…an extraordinary life.”

You see, Sherrye gave everything, not just 100%, but 1000%. In her career, she taught with the purpose of not just teaching science, but to also make an impact on those kids’ lives. She didn’t just travel to the beach, but she and her good friend Don Pearson would fly to amazing places like London, Switzerland, and even Las Vegas to see Cher perform her final show. Sherrye didn’t just go shopping; she bought everything in the store. She was over the top, threw the best dinner parties, and made sure to make an impression everywhere that she went. She lived an extraordinary life…and that is what she would want to teach each and every one of you here today.

Sherrye was my person…my greatest influence. I was her shadow from the time I was 5 years old, and ive never felt more lost in my life than I do at this moment…But I know that I am the man I am today because of her.  And I will go on to try and live the extraordinary life that she would want because, as Hunter Thompson once wrote, “Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside in a cloud of smoke, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming "Wow! What a Ride!”

To Aunt Sherrye: as you and Sheen always said…I love you more than my luggage…and to all of our friends and family who sent calls, texts, and supported Sherrye and us these past few years…we could never fully express our gratitude. Thank you. 

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