Sheryl Marie Burrell

Sheryl was born on July 22, 1943, in Aurora, Illinois, to Fred Russell Amos and Ruth Kinzie Amos. She was the second of three sisters who were known by their family and friends as the “brilliant and delightful” Amos girls in the town of South Whitley, Indiana, where they spent most of their childhood and teenage years.

Sheryl followed in the footsteps of her mother, pursuing a nursing degree at the Toledo Hospital School of Nursing followed by a B.S. in Nursing from Ohio State University. It was at OSU that she met her future husband at a mixer, referring to him as an “intense-looking young man” who “stirred my interest.”

She was a devoted wife and mother to her two children, Lisa Marie Burrell and Peter Benjamin Burrell, who felt her love and support every instant of every day. Alongside her nursing career, in Richmond, Virginia, and family life, she pursued volunteer work dedicated to social justice and service, focusing on projects that involved people and communities outside of her immediate orbit. She looked for opportunities to learn and grow from people who were different from herself, including work with refugee resettlement, the MCV children’s AIDS clinic, AIDS education, and the establishment and growth of the twinning relationship between her parish, Church of the Redeemer Roman Catholic Church in Mechanicsville, Virginia, and the AFAL Women’s Organization in Lascahobas, Haiti. She became a passionate advocate for Haiti and its people making yearly trips to develop a relationship with AFAL, provide medical care, and assist in disaster relief.

Sheryl was an inspiration and guiding light to all who knew her. She taught us all how to see the beauty in others and in ourselves. She taught us how to love, laugh, and listen with our whole hearts. She was a model of how to be both with and for others.

In addition to her husband, Benjamin, and two children, Lisa and Peter, she is survived by her beloved daughter-in-law, Emily Cathcart Burrell, her cherished grandchildren, Benjamin Astor Burrell and Sophie Ruth Burrell, and her sisters, Prudence Amos Widlak and Constance Amos Leino.

She is preceded in death by her parents, Ruth Kinzie Amos and Fred Russell Amos.

In lieu of flowers or other gifts we invite donations to support the continuing work of the Church of the Redeemer Haiti Ministry. Please use the following link and choose “In Memory of Sheryl Burrell”: https://www.wesharegiving.org/app/giving/weshare-2633?tab=home