On the day of July 8, 1959 Sherrie Ann Hendley was born. Her life began differently than most. During her birth, complications arose, and ended in Sherrie obtaining brain damage. Doctors suggested to Ann and Jimmy for Sherrie to be raised differently because of the predicted life obstacles she would face. Little did the doctors know, Sherrie was a fighter and she wasn't born into just any family. She was born into a family full of love and strength that would fight for her at any cost. Her family decided against the doctor's recommendation and thought the best place for her would be around loving family and friends. Even though Sherrie had conditions that some people would not consider to be normal, Sherrie's family made sure she was treated as normal as any other child her age. Sherrie was a fighter. She was until the very end of her life. She had such a strong spirit from the moment she was born and was bound to beat expectations and obstacles thrown her way.

Sherrie grew up on the southside of Savannah. She was like any other kid her age. She played outside with her siblings and the neighborhood children. They would ride bikes, play games like first bounce (similar to baseball), and go in and out of friend's houses socializing with everyone. She had the same rules to follow as everyone else and her sister Teresa said, she was just one of the kids, no one treated her differently

As Sherrie became school age she attended the Kicklighter Center in Savannah, GA. At that time, due to the lack of resources such as funding for programs for exceptional students and even laws yet to be created to protect the education of students with disabilities, she was unable to attend public school.  However, that did not stop her family from pushing her to meet goals, they themselves had expectations of her meeting.

After a full day spent at the Kicklighter Center she would go spend the afternoon with her grandmother who taught her academics and adaptive/living skills. Sherrie learned numbers and counting as well as the ABC's and how to write her letters. Learning how to write got her creative juices flowing and even up to her last weeks on Earth she drew. She would create the most fascinatingly abstract drawings and signed her first, middle, and last name all over it, each time. She loved to give her drawings out to friends, family, and guests that came to visit. It was her way of making friends and making sure no one forgot who she was, Sherrie Ann Hendley.

Once Sherrie was an adult, each day, her mother or father would drive her to the CARC ,which was a center for adults with disabilities. There she met many friends, continued to work on life skills, and earned a small monthly paycheck for the work she completed there. Sherrie was much smarter than most people gave her credit for. There were times she could be sneaky and figure out a way to break the rules. For example when her parents went to bed she would get candy from the drawer and eat it at night. She would've gotten away with it except she liked to throw the wrappers under her bed and eventually her stash of trash was found. She also liked to break the mold, and work smarter not harder. She would almost daily get caught napping when she was supposed to be working. For lunch each day, Her mother would give money to purchase food at the center. Sherrie would get what she wanted for lunch like candy and lots of yummy junk food instead of what her mother had told her to purchase. When Sherrie would object to the rules placed on her, Ann and Jimmy would tell other family members and friends in front of Sherrie to try to help her understand she couldn't break the rules that were in place. It didn't bother her an ounce. Not one embarrassing bone in that girl's body. She did what she felt like doing and lived life to the fullest without a care in the world. Most people can't think of a time when Sherrie was worried about life.

People loved Sherrie and Sherrie loved people. Socializing was one of her favorite activities to do. Oftentimes she would not always be the one doing the talking but she sure did do the listening and observing. There is no telling how many secrets she overheard and never told. Sometimes she had questions about what people were saying and she would ask her mother and father about it, days later. Most of the details would be missing so in order to figure out who she was speaking about her parents would ask her, "Who? And what do they look like?" she would always say, "You know! The girl with the hair!" As you can see it was hard to narrow down at times.

Sherrie was a lover of all things Elvis, purple, bowling, and the Braves baseball team. She wasn't much of a dancer, but you could play any Elvis song or Staying Alive by The Bee Gees and it would give her just enough gumption to dance. If you ever gave her a picture of Elvis she would just stare and admire. Purple was also her favorite color. To hear her say the word purple was very high up on the "cuteness" scale. Anytime someone would wear purple around her she would recognize it immediately and say, "Purple is my favorite color. I like purple!" Bowling is another favorite of hers. She was part of the AMBUCS bowling league. She had two balls of her own and a set of shoes and many other bowling items put together nicely in her very professional bowling bag. Every Saturday she participated in bowling with her AMBUCS team. She was very competitive and would come back home to show her score sheet to everyone. She was so serious in fact, she would threaten to get a higher score than anyone who wanted to challenge her. Braves are another favorite pastime of hers. Each year Ann and Jimmy would take Sherrie to visit with family in Florida and they would all go to the Braves spring training. Throughout the year as the Braves played Sherrie made sure to have the game on the television. While she sat at her desk and drew or hung out in the shop with the guys she would consistently ask, "What's the score?" And when she heard the answer to her question would say, "Hmm." Sherrie loved everything about life except tomatoes. She could be begged to eat a tomato and it was not going to happen. But give her tomato soup, "red soup" as she called it, and she would leave a bowl nothing shy of sparkling clean.

Over the years her family has cared for her and fought for her tremendously so that she could live a long lasting, fulfilling life, full of joy and happiness. Throughout all the obstacles in her life she exceeded all expectations and timelines put on her life by professionals, made many many friends, and was full of joy. Sherrie came into this world a fighter, beating all the odds, with loved ones always on her side, and left this world on October 10, 2020 in the same fashion. She is preceded in death by her mother Ann Hendley. She is survived by her father James Hendley, sister Teresa Slater (Matthew Slater), aunt Beth Korey, uncle Larry Ward, and many aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, and friends who will always cherish their memories with her.

In honor of our sweet Sherrie we ask you to dance your heart out to an Elvis Presley song, cheer on the Braves, indulge in the sweet things...especially chocolate, wear purple, break the mold of what the world thinks you should be, enjoy a game of bowling with friends and loved ones, and most of all remember the innocence of your inner child, put your worries to the side, and enjoy all the fun times life has to offer.

Graveside funeral services will be private.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in Sherrie's memory to: The Nancy N. and J.C. Lewis Cancer and Research Pavilion, 225 Candler Drive, Savannah, GA 31405; Spanish Oaks Hospice, 8510 Whitfield Avenue, Savannah, GA 31406; St. Elizabeth's Episcopal Church, 16491 GA-144, Richmond Hill , GA 31324; or to The American Red Cross Association, 41 Park of Commerce Way Building #200, Suite A, Savannah, GA 31405.