Sherry Lee Vande Vrede York was born to Dorothy Ann Wienke and Berdean John Vande Vrede on June 18, 1951 in Glenwood City, Wis. Along with her older brother, Randy, the family moved to Tanner’s Lake in St. Paul when she was about five. In 1963, the family moved to River Falls where she graduated high school in 1969 and after one year at the UWRF she married Steven York on Oct. 3, 1970. They welcomed a daughter, Heather on Oct. 22, 1973. In 1976 they moved from Cudd’s Court in River Falls to a house in Ellsworth for a year or so and then to a farm south of Ellsworth where they resided until 2008. Upon selling the farm they moved back to River Falls so Heather could be a caregiver to Sherry and Dorothy.
Sherry had extensive health issues that required much care both at home and doctoring at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. for nearly 40 years. Her health went up and down over the years but she faced each hurdle with a smile and determination to make the best of it with no complaints. Sherry worked at the old Red & White in River Falls in high school, and at Smeads on the factory line after she was married until she had to quit due to her health in 1985. Sherry may have been a townie by upbringing but she took to farming like a pro, loving everything about it, and missing it when they moved back to River Falls. When she could no longer do the physical aspects of farming she handled all the paperwork side especially after they switched from crop farming to strawberries, raspberries, asparagus, pumpkins, and other assorted veggies. She called around to stores arranging orders and deliveries. From castrating pigs to weighing out potato orders, she faced everything with a smile just as she did everything else and never complained once. It was that smile that inspired everyone she met.
Despite years of hardly ever getting to see them on local TV, she was a huge Packer Backer, Milwaukee Brewers fan, as well as loving her Wisconsin Badgers football, men and women’s basketball. She was a huge Minnesota Twins fan too and loved watching them go to the World Series in 1987 and 1991; she especially enjoyed watching Kirby Pucket, Kent Hrbek, and Joe Mauer but after the Twins fired her beloved Paul Molitor as manager she turned from the team and took a liking to the Milwaukee Bucks to fill that place in her heart. The last few years she wasn’t as mobile as she would have liked to be and became a huge fan of doing Legos, first as therapy for her hands and eyes but quickly becoming a beloved hobby. Sherry liked to keep busy, a bit of a pack rat like her dad really. She loved Christmas and Halloween with all the lights and decorations, the displays Heather put up and going out to look at all the other displays in the area too. You wouldn’t expect it to look at her, but she was a huge horror movie fan, the gorier the better; she loved the subtlety of the old Hollywood classics but enjoyed a good old “slasher” film too. British mysteries, comedies, and the UK soap opera Emmerdale were also favorites of hers, so Britbox streaming was one of her go-to viewing choices. Starting in 2020 she came across the Hallmark Channel and Hallmark Mystery Channel and fell in love with all the HEA romance and who-done-its, so much so that when she was in the hospital in 2021 for 108 days at St. Mary’s in Rochester, most of the nurses and doctors called her the “Hallmark Lady” as they were the only two channels she ever watched, unless her Packers or Badgers were on. In a time when mailing cards is becoming less and less, Sherry tried to never miss family/friends’ birthdays and anniversaries and she loved waiting for the mail during the holidays to read all the Christmas cards and letters.
Sherry is survived by her husband Steve, daughter Heather, aunt Berneita (nee Fisher) Wienke, many, many cousins, so many friends, and three nieces.
She is preceded in death by her parents Berdean and Dorothy, brother Randy, grandparents Isaac and Hattie(nee Rens) Vande Vrede and step-grandmother Ella(nee Rens) Vande Vrede and Alta (nee Ziemer) and Walter Wienke, Sr., uncles and aunts Harris Wienke, Paul (Leitha Christensen) Wienke, Art (Elburta Matter) Wienke, Melvin(Wilma Vande Vrede) Wienke, Walter Wienke, Jr., Lilas (nee Vande Vrede) & Jim Wernlund, cousin & cousin-in-law Loreen (nee Wienke) & Dale Moe, cousin Steve Wernlund, and cousin-in-law Patrice (nee Jones) Wienke.
A Funeral Service will be held on Friday, Jan. 24, 2025 at 11 a.m. at the English Lutheran Church (229 W. Main St., Ellsworth, WI.) Visitation will be held on Thursday, Jan. 23, 2o25 from 4-7 p.m. at Bakken-Young Funeral & Cremation Services (805 E. Division St., River Falls, WI) and on Friday from 10–11 a.m. at the church. Interment will be in Greenwood Cemetery in River Falls. Family encourages casual dress and are more than welcome to wear any Packer, Brewers, Badgers, Bucks clothing. Arrangements are with Bakken-Young Funeral & Cremation Services.
