Sherri Lynn Perkins

Other than 3 years of high school in St. Louis, she lived her entire life in Colorado. Sherri searched out online and found her half-sister Geraldine Kidwell about 2020 living in Oregon. She was the proud Matriarch of a family with two children and their spouses, 6 grandchildren and 3 great-granddaughters. She died at home in hospice care June 17, 2025. But, these are only the dry statistics of a life well-lived.

Sherri was an active girl, riding in the Westernaires, a performance horseback riding team, and taking dance lessons. Her family built a home on Lookout Mountain and yet another on North Turkey Creek, so she became involved with all the trades early in her life. In fact, when we bought our first house, she did the Herringbone paneling in the basement. Sherri was the consummate seamstress making many of her own clothes.

Sherri attended CSU where she ran into an old junior high school boyfriend, and they married in 1971. By then Sherri had quit CSU and earned her certificate as a Dental Assistant. So, she supported Rick while he finished his degree. During this time she also discovered that with her sewing skills, she could sew outdoor clothing from kits. She made tents, down clothing, and sleeping bags, but the real money was in wind parkas. She did so many of them; she could crank one out in three hours. (It seemed the whole mountain rescue team was in Sherri’s parkas.) Her crowning achievement was a pack sack to attach to a frame, which she carried for many years.

After Rick Graduated from college they both worked and spent most of their free time hiking, camping, backpacking, and skiing all over Colorado and some of the surrounding states. During this period, Sherri got involved with the Larimer County wildfire program and ended up fighting the Bear Creek Fire on the Medicine National Forest as one of the first female wildland firefighters in the nation. After her children were born, she switched to doing fire dispatch work for both the county and USFS. She dispatched part of the Big Thompson Flood with Shannon in a box nearby on the floor.

As you might have guessed, she and Rick started a family with Shannon in 1976 and Jeremy in 1977. During her second pregnancy she had eyesight problems and coordination issues, which she attributed to the pregnancy. When they didn’t resolve, she saw a Dr. and was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis in late ‘77. She faced it head on and joined the MS society and was elected president of the Larimer county chapter about 79. When the National MS Society absorbed the Colorado MS Society, they became more focused on research and less on patient support; she resigned her position.

Sherri then put her energies into being a mom. She was the mom who organized and supported all the class activities went on field trips and volunteered in the school. As Shannon got older, she became involved with the girl scouts. This included being the cookie sales organizer with hundreds of boxes of cookies in the living room. During this time, she was also involved several home party sales organizations- including Creative circle where she could apply her sewing skills.

As her MS progressed, she was forced to slow down and was in a wheelchair full-time by the mid 90’s. In her seventies, Sherri discovered the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute and became a real fan. She could have a social life there, keep her mind active, and feel like she was still involved with life. She had developed favorite instructors and would take everything from them she could. Her favorite subjects were comparative religion, nature, and local history. She took classes up through this spring.

Sherri was above all else was the eternal optimist she saw the good in every person and situation; as her disability progressed, she could always find a workaround to stay involved. When all else failed, she could find joy while lying in her bed and watching the birds at the feeders.

But, above all Sherri loved her family and friends. She took great joy in her extended family and was proud of them all. She couldn’t wait for the next holiday gathering to be with them. Her children and their spouses, grandchildren and great-granddaughters were her proudest legacy, and she will be watching to see who they become.

In lieu of flowers contributions can be made to the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute, 2545 Research Blvd. Fort Collins, Co. 80526