Sheryl Alongi Dugan

Survived by her daughters Kara and Meghan, siblings Stan Alongi (Donna) and Lori Correia (Mike), and many nieces and nephews whom she adored greatly. She is preceded in death by her parents, Norman and Carmel Alongi, grandparents and aunts and uncles.

She lived a life in faith, and love of family and friends.

Sheryl was a lifelong resident of San Jose. She spent most of her childhood growing up in Willow Glen, graduating from Willow Glen High School. She earned her degree and teaching credential from San Jose State University and started her teaching career in 1970. Her first daughter Kara was born in 1977 and Meghan came along in 1981. Both daughters brought much happiness and joy to her life.

In over 40 years in the Santa Clara School District, Sheryl taught all primary grade levels. Sheryl’s passion for teaching was not only for the children, but later in her career, teachers as well. She became a literacy specialist and coach and enjoyed training teachers and sharing her knowledge and experience with other teachers. As she was winding down her career with the school district, she became involved with mentoring student teachers. This became her retirement job, which she loved greatly.

Among her many blessings was family and tradition. She spent countless hours with her mother and father throughout their lives and was a great companion to her mother after her father passed away. She loved family traditions. Two of her favorites were spending time in Lake Tahoe each summer with her entire family and Thursday night spaghetti dinners. The weekly dinners began when she was a young girl and carried on until recently. She also enjoyed continuing her mom’s tradition of baking many Christmas cookies and making her grandmother’s Italian cucidati cookies. Sheryl shined in her role as family matriarch and historian. Her love of family was evident as she researched and wrote the family history for both the Alongi and Malvase sides of the family.

Sheryl lived her life by her faith, looking for the positive in any person and in every situation. She made personal connections with so many whom paths she crossed. She was genuinely interested and excited for other’s life events. Sheryl never said no to a party, loved to travel to and to spend time with her friends and family. She had various friend groups she would routinely have coffee or lunch with. She cherished the time spent with friends, colleagues, and family, whether it was seeing someone weekly or annually. She loved to get to know the details of everyone she knew.

Sheryl was an avid Bay Area sports fan and she was especially passionate about her San Francisco Giants. Though she loved to follow their achievements, the more important the game, the less she could watch. She always had a fear that her involvement would somehow cause them to lose.

If Sheryl’s life could be summed up into one word, it would be family. She was a loving mom who enjoyed raising her daughters just as much as the relationships she had with them as adults. She adored her brother and sister and their spouses and all the adventures they had together. Her nieces and nephews were very important to her as well. She enjoyed being so close to them. The grand nieces and nephews were a light in her life. She absolutely loved being a part of their lives. She had a unique bond with each of the 13 of them and was honored to be included in so much of their lives.

Sheryl was a friend to all, always smiling, always looking for the good in a situation, and always trying to do the right thing. A passionate person in so many ways, she loved to share her passion whether it was about her kids, family, or education. She touched so many people in so many different ways, she was a wonderful woman. Our beloved mom and sister lived a life never to be forgotten.

Sheryl was passionate about many charities and these were the ones she was most touched by, Southern Poverty Law Center, American Cancer Society and Paralyzed Veterans of America. In lieu of flowers please consider donating to one of these charities.