Obituary of Nancy Sherry

Nan was born to Joseph and Rosemary Young Sherry (formerly of North Liberty, Iowa) on February 24, 1946 in San Juan, Puerto Rico, where her father worked for Pan American Airways. In 1948 the family relocated to South Miami, Florida where they lived until the unexpected death of their mother in 1952. The children moved to Waverly, Iowa, to live with Rosemary’s sister Dorothy and her husband, (Dr) Herbert Rathe. In 1957, after her father remarried, she and brother Jack (John) returned to Miami. Nan graduated from high school in South Miami, then attended Sullins College in Roanoke, Virginia. She graduated from Florida State University with a Bachelor’s Degree in Elementary Education and earned her Master’s Degree in Special Education at the University of Iowa while her then husband, Steve Segebarth, was attending the University of Iowa to pursue a law degree. During this time she was a story teller at the Iowa City Library. The first part of her career was spent in Florida, Hawaii, and Iowa teaching elementary education. She then taught special education in Iowa, New York, Kentucky and Indiana, relocating because of her husband’s profession. She was very innovative in her methods of teaching and highly respected by her students and peers. Nan had a great sense of humor and was very creative. She was musically talented, playing the ukulele and singing in various groups. She loved ballroom dancing and spent many evenings whirling the night away. She was an avid biker, riding as much as 50 miles in one day. Nan died in Vero Beach, Florida on September 10, 2005 after an intense, courageous battle with appendicle cancer, with her brother Bill and sister Kathy at her side. She was a great sister, and friend to many, always seeing the positive in people and in life. She set an example for facing life, and death, with dignity. She will be greatly missed by all who knew and loved her. She was predecesed by her parents. She is survived by her sister, Katherine Sherry, step-sister Hulet Sherry, brothers William and John (Jack), nieces Brooke Khodabakhsh, Kendall Gruhn, Rosemary Sherry, Kristen Sherry, nephew William Sherry, Jr, and numerous cousins.