Sherrill Shiras Obituary

Shiras, Sherrill Livingstone Joyce
Sherrill Livingstone Joyce Shiras of Winnetka passed away on Monday, October 11th. Born in Northern Rhodesia (Union of South Africa, now Zambia) on December 15, 1930, where her father engineered the creation of the world's largest copper mine, she was a curiosity to the native people who loved her and had never seen a Caucasian baby. An only child of Lois Platt Joyce and Robert Swift Joyce, she traveled extensively with her family, living mostly in England, Los Angeles and Pittsburgh. She was a legacy student of Swarthmore College, following in the footsteps of her father and her Uncle George Joyce. It was in Pittsburgh that she met and married Winfield Shiras. Their 57 years of life together led them from Pittsburgh (Fox Chapel) to Minneapolis (Wayzata) and then 16 years in Laguna Beach, California, where their four children grew up. Following business, they moved from Laguna to Chicagoland in 1978, arriving in the middle of the "Bilandic" blizzard. They settled in Winnetka, but have also enjoyed most winters in Palm Desert, California. Over the years Sherry volunteered her time and support to various garden clubs, art groups and social agencies. Yet she changed hats easily, from belle of the ball to Mom to carpenter. Her friends and family enjoy memories of her beautiful gardens, her prolific artwork and her do-it-yourself sensibility. When she needed a solution, with all due respect to tradesmen, she was known to unapologetically pull out her own power tools and get to work. Her resolute and indomitable nature was balanced in equal measure by her devotedly maternal and esthetic flipside. A deep appreciation of shape, form, color and texture endures through her collections of sea shells, rocks, driftwood, moss and dried flowers. This same artistically sensitive woman was also a loving yet "don't-mess-with-me" mother with an adventurous spirit that her family enjoyed and admired. She is known to have crawled down California cliffs with her sons to reach isolated coves where clams were to be dug. Family vacations included snow skiing, camping trips in Baja, and, in the High Sierras, shooting the wild rapids of the Kings River. Besides her husband, Sherry leaves behind her four children: Winfield (Santa Barbara), Robert (and Patricia, Seattle), Anne Caldwell (Lake Forest) and Leigh Bickmore (and David, Deerfield), as well as 10 grandchildren, all of whom are grateful heirs of her creative and gregarious spirit. A memorial service will be held at Christ Church in Winnetka at Sheridan Road and Humboldt Street on Monday, November 8th at 3:00pm. In lieu of flowers, donate to a cause of your own choice and then take a long walk outdoors to appreciate nature's gifts. Sherry would love that. Arrangements by Wm. H. Scott Funeral Home, 847-251-8200.

This obituary was originally published in the Antioch Review.