Sherry Lynn (Adams) Holman

In the early hours of February 4, 2023, the world became slightly dimmer when Sherry Lynn (Adams) Holman, aged 68, passed away at Benefis Hospital in Great Falls, MT, surrounded by family. In the last few years of Sherry's life, she was diagnosed with various illnesses, so even though her passing was sad to those she left behind, for Sherry, the pain and suffering has ended. Her body was undoubtedly restored to health the moment she entered Heaven to be reunited with the loved ones who passed before.

She was born Sherry Lynn Adams, in Napa, California to Edwin William “Ned” Adams and Dolores Elsie (Smott) Adams on June 22, 1954.  Sherry liked to tell people that she was named after her father's favorite horse. Her father had told her this story and it always tickled her pink to repeat it. Sherry was the apple of her father’s eye. Ned worked for Kaiser Steel in Napa, California and Dolores was a homemaker who volunteered for the P.T.A. When Sherry was two years old, she became a big sister to Eddie Adams, whom she adored. Eddie never referred to his big sister by her given name. He was always referred to her as "Sis."  The siblings remained close until Eddie's tragic death when he was only 38 years old. Sherry never recovered from that loss.

She spent a lot of time with her paternal grandparents, Jack and Nina Adams, when she was growing up. She also enjoyed spending time with her favorite cousin, Paul Adams, and her favorite aunt, Faye Adams. She would light up when telling stories about her time with each of them.
Sherry lost her mother when she was 13 years old and dropped out of school at that time to help her father run the household until he remarried Nellie Hernandez shortly thereafter. Nellie had 10 children from a previous marriage so they went from a small family to a large blended one that brought some happiness to Sherry and Eddie. They both loved having so many new siblings, and almost immediately, Ned and Nellie gave Sherry, Eddie and all of Nellie's children, a new sibling, Susan “Susie” Adams-Hernandez.

The family enjoyed spending time in the Lake Tahoe family cabin, and camping, fishing, and boating at Shaws Shady Acres in Clear Lake, California and Lake Berryessa, California. There was also the annual Shark and Stingray Derby in Tomales Bay, California. Sherry grew up with a fishing pole in her hands and fishing remained a part of her life until she was no longer able to do it towards the end of her life. She passed her love of the sport onto her children. It was a particularly special thing that she shared with her only son, Shawn Cameron, while he grew up. She would often pick him up from school with a couple of poles and a tackle box in the car, and tell him, "Shush, it's a secret, don't tell your sisters that we went fishing today."

Sherry was 16 years old when she became a mother for the first time in 1970.  It was not an easy time to be a single parent, but she was fortunate to have the support of her family during the first year of her baby daughter's life.  A year later, she met and married her first husband, Cecil Cameron, and they had two children together, a daughter and a son. That marriage was short lived. Sherry married her second husband, Melbie Allen Holman on Valentine's Day, 1982. She often described him as the love of her life.  The two were so in love that they renewed their vows in April of 1989.  Mel helped Sherry raise her three children. During their union, life wasn't always easy, but it was definitely always an adventure. Mel was an old cowboy who taught her how to ride a bull and she did so in an actual rodeo. The two divorced in later years but they remained in each other's lives, as a source of support, comfort, friendship and occassional companionship, right up until Mel's death in 2018.
Sherry was capable of anything she put her mind to. She was a hard worker. She was a business owner throughout her lifetime.  She co-owned gas stations in the California Bay area. She owned her own home cleaning company and she co-owned a pilot car company.  She also had jobs working for the Napa Valley United School district and working on a ranch. She had a brief career in the nursing industry, and she took and passed the police academy exams although she never actually became an officer. She was a certified auto mechanic and she was everybody's favorite waitress at various restaurants in Oregon, Louisiana, and finally Montana, three of the places Sherry called home after she left California in the 1990s.

If you knew Sherry, chances are you have been on the receiving end of her sharp tongue. It was the only thing sharper than her wit. Her personality was even more fiery than her trademarked fire engine red hair. She was tough, feisty, sassy, and ornery.  Sherry was definitely a fighter, and she could be hard as nails, but she was more than that, too. She felt things deeply. Her heart was enormous. She could be kind and generous and she was funny and thoughtful. She enjoyed simple things like being out in nature, cooking, rodeos, country and western music and dancing, a hot cup of coffee or a cold beer. Sherry also enjoyed arts and crafts and she would often make gifts for loved ones. She got excited about the holidays, dressing up, decorating, giving gifts, and gathering with family.
Sherry was preceded in death by her parents; grandparents; and younger brother and best friend, Mel. She is survived by her daughters, Tonya Rachelle Adams and Leona Celeste Holman; son, Shawn Darrell Cameron; grandchildren, Breanna, Luke, Rowan, Tyrone, Jordan, Mariah, and Izsebella; great-grandchildren, Skylynn, Serenity, Melody, and Camden; and a new great-granddaughter who has not yet made her arrival. Sherry is also survived by her younger sister, Susan Adams; various nieces and nephews; and extended family members and loved ones.

A celebration of life will take place in the future.