Sherry Jurd

McEwen

Sherry L. Jurd (Sherry Howe Jurd), of McEwen, died Nov. 19, 2021, as a result of a heart attack. At the time, Sherry was visiting her granddaughter, Lily, who is undergoing emergency brain surgery in Portland to remove a malignant tumor. The tremendous emotional weight stemming from the potential loss of this precious little girl became too much for her to bear, and her heart gave out while grocery shopping with her beloved husband, Michael.

A celebration of Sherry’s life will be take place in the spring or summer of 2022. The date and time will be announced.

Sherry had always dreamed of becoming a Nana, so we are all so very grateful that she was able to experience the incredible joy that her granddaughter brought to her before she departed this Earth, her family said. We will always find comfort in knowing that Sherry is now watching over her sweet Lily Bean. Making sure that Lily is comfortable, protected from pain, and ever aware of just how much she is loved.

Sherry’s light was, and will always be, extraordinarily bright.

Born in Akron, Ohio, to Emily Howe and Frank L. Howe, Sherry was the oldest of her siblings, including her two brothers, Richard and Larry, and her sister Marsha. Tragically, Marsha was killed at an early age in a freak accident. Being very close to Marsha, Sherry often talked fondly of her to friends and family. This was the kind of person Sherry was; able to shine light and love even through the most tragic of circumstances.

Leaving Ohio while she was still a teenager, Sherry headed to Paradise Camp, California, where she graduated from Santa Yonez High, class of 1965. She gave birth a few years later to a beautiful baby girl in January of 1968. Unfortunately, having no means to support a child, she made a heart-wrenching decision that would shape the rest of her life. She put her daughter up for adoption. This was a decision that became deeply regretted by Sherry later in life. But it was also one that ultimately blossomed into something truly amazing and miraculous further down the life paths of her and her family.

A few years later, Sherry moved to Santa Barbara, California, where she met and fell in love with her life partner, Michael Jurd. The couple formed the first of several bands, this one called Sweetheart, and entertained audiences in the Santa Barbara area with their amazing harmonies and melodies for several years. In 1972 the budding musicians moved to Felton, California, and played even more music with their bands Jericho Stitch and Caribou in that city and in Santa Cruz for four more years. They were married in their backyard in Felton, overlooking the redwoods, in 1975.

The newlyweds moved to Sumpter in the fall of 1976, celebrating their first Christmas in a cozy cabin without running water or electricity. They both have said that that was one of the most memorable Christmases either had ever had. They purchased property in McEwen two years later, and built a home together from the ground up which they have lived and loved in ever since.

In 1979, Sherry and Michael had a baby boy, Landis, and welcomed their second son, Kelley, into the world in 1982. For Sherry’s 50th birthday, the family surprised her by reintroducing her firstborn daughter, Charmagne Howe Douglas. Sherry, who had long told her immediate family about the daughter and sister they all shared through her, was beaming through joyous, heartfelt tears when their connection was once again established … her family had become complete. Family was the most important thing to her and she adored her three children, keeping very close relationships to them into adulthood. She even learned how to use an iPhone to keep up with texting!

Committed and loyal to her careers, as well as providing for her family, several places that Sherry was employed throughout the years include Pioneer Savings and Loan (head teller), Farm Credit (financial officer), New Directions Northwest (human resources manager), Baker City Bi-Mart (cashier), and Sumpter Nugget (cashier/tender).

In addition to her working life, Sherry had many creative interests. Not only was she a lead vocalist in their final band that her and Michael had created — The Deer Creek Band — but she was also a highly skilled blanket and clothes maker. Often found with hooks in hand while she talked with friends and family, her passion for crochet eventually led her to a new style called “Mochila.” She became a member of several Mochila groups, and her handiwork was requested, distributed and is admired by many, far and wide.

When not crocheting or singing in front of local audiences, Sherry enjoyed going for walks with her loyal companion dog and buddy, Mac, wrestling yarn away from her cat, Cheese (and then untangling the mess left in the wake), sharing time with her loving family and friends, engaging in engrossing and meandering conversations with her lovely daughter-in-law, and of course, being a mother to her children, and a Nana to her beautiful granddaughter.

Sherry’s survivors include the love of her life and ever devoted husband, Michael; her brothers, Larry and Richard Howe; her children, Charmagne, Landis and Kelley; her daughter in-law, Briana, and her beautiful baby granddaughter, Lily.

She was preceded in death by her grandparents, Louise Hopkins and Robert A. Marshall Howe; her mother, Emily Howe; her father, Frank Howe; her stepmother, Peggy Howe; and her sister, Marsha Howe.

Sherry was the type of mother, mother-in-law, Nana, sibling, wife, and friend that Tolkienesque tales are made of. The world may be a bit darker for those of us without her on this plane of existence, but … the life she led, the tears she cried, the belly laughs she couldn’t contain, as well as the amazing love for life she reminds us of, will continue to shine down upon us all … and always be remembered.

Exceptionally kind. Eternally graceful. Forever loved.

In lieu of flowers the family requests contributions be made to Sherry’s granddaughter Lily Jurd’s GoFund Me page for her recovery and healing expenses, at https://www.gofundme.com/f/lily-anne-jurd, or checks made to Landis Jurd (monies to go into Lily’s account) through Tami’s Pine Valley Funeral Home, P.O. Box 543, Halfway, OR 97834. Online condolences can be shared at www.tamispinevalleyfuneralhome.com.