Sheryl L Rutherford

Sheryl Leslie Rutherford (known as “Sheri” to her friends and family) was born on September 7th, 1949 in Belleville Kansas to Kenneth and Bonnie Wood. She passed away on March 18th, 2016 at the age of 66 in Atlantic, Iowa. She attended school in Belleville through the 8th grade when her family moved to York, Nebraska. She graduated from York High School in 1967. Following high school, Sheryl attended Patricia Stevens School of Fashion Design in Omaha and graduated with an Associate’s Degree in Fashion Merchandising. She moved to Minneapolis and worked in fashions at Kilpatricks Department Store. She married Ron Knudsen on September 28, 1968 and together they had 5 children…Darrin, Jon, Kari, Brian and Jason. They lived in Billings, MT and later moved to Elkhorn/KimbaIlton, IA. On, May 29th, 1981, Sheryl married Kelly Rutherford and they moved to Lincoln and then later Hickman, Nebraska. Sheryl worked for Dr. Walt Conard for a number of years and then as a CNA at Madonna Rehabilitation Hospital. While at Madonna, Sheryl found that she had a passion for nursing and caring for others and decided to pursue a degree in nursing at Southeast Community College in Lincoln. While working and caring for her family, she managed to graduate from the Registered Nursing program in 1993. She worked as an RN at Madonna Rehabilitation Hospital, First Care Home Health Care and later Bryan-LGH West in Lincoln. During this time, she advanced her training to include certification as a Certified Rehabilitation Registered Nurse. In 2008, Sheryl and Kelly moved to Atlantic, Iowa where Sheryl continued to work as a CRRN at Atlantic Nursing and Rehabilitation Center. She officially retired in 2014. Sheryl loved being with her kids and grandkids and always loved the crazy shenanigans during family gatherings. She made every holiday and birthday special with handmade cards that she lovingly made for her family and friends. Sheryl enjoyed camping with her husband, gardening and canning, painting, crocheting and all kinds of crafts. Sheryl is survived by her husband Kelly; her children, Darrin and Dawn Knudsen (Gretna), Jon and Nikki Knudsen (Roca), Kari and Jon Murray (Beatrice), Brian Knudsen(Atchison, KS), Jason and Amanda Knudsen (Lincoln); her grandkids, Kayla, Kyle, Alexa, Tyler, Ashley, Jay, Trey, Francis, Michael, Kash and Laney; her sisters, Connie Davis, Vicki and Dan Vavra, and brothers, Monte Wood and Kenny Wood Jr.; many nieces, nephews and cousins. She was preceded in death by her parents, Kenneth and Bonnie Wood and parent-in-laws, Dale and Esther Rutherford. Services will be held at 11:00 am on Wednesday, March 23rd at Messiah Lutheran Church, 1800 S 84th Street in Lincoln, NE. Visitation will be Tuesday, March 22nd, with family present from 6-8 at Lincoln Memorial Funeral Home