Sheryl Barker Remembered

Sheryl Barker, Senior Director of the Undergraduate Program, our colleague, friend and advisor died unexpectedly on August 3, 2008. For 21 years Sheryl brought ideas, insights, concern, professionalism and dedication to her work in the USF School of Business and Management. She will be missed by all. There will be a gathering for students, alumni, faculty and staff to remember Sheryl on Monday, October 13 at 4:00 pm in the Xavier Hall of the Fromm Hall building (Parker and Turk).

Sheryl died following a rafting accident while on vacation in Oregon with her partner Professor Dan Blakley. On August 8 USF faculty and staff joined Sheryl’s family and friends on campus to remember Sheryl. You may read these the warm comments and tributes of four colleagues and friends who recalled Sheryl’s impact and importance to so many in our community that follows.

Sheryl Barker joined USF 21 years ago teaching courses in quantitative methods and analysis. Soon she moved onto the School’s management team in what would prove to be a permanent role as undergraduate student adviser, program director, orientation leader, curriculum master and student affairs expert. In these roles she offered immense support to her faculty colleagues in preparing them to advise students and in solving student problems.  Most significantly, she affected the academic, professional and personal development of more than 10,000 USF undergraduates over two decades.

In 1999 the USF School of Business and Management faculty and staff recognized Sheryl’s significance to them by giving her the Mary Smith Colleague of the Year Award. Also in 1999 she was inducted into Beta Gamma Sigma, the national honor society for business students, as a testimony to her importance to USF’s students.

Prior to joining USF Sheryl had more than a dozen years experience as a quality assurance expert with Bechtel Power Corporation and Cygna Energy Services. She earned an undergraduate degree in mathematics from California State University, Fresno and an MBA from the University of Oregon. She also pursued graduate studies in curriculum development and assessment at the University of San Francisco.

In education the measure of our work is taken over the lifetimes of the students with whom we work. Sheryl Barker’s measure will be taken over the span of more than a generation of students who benefitted from her work as a teacher and advisor. Their successes are the lasting tribute to Sheryl’s contributions to the University of San Francisco.

Yours truly,
Mike Duffy
Dean
University of San Francisco
School of Business and Management

 On behalf of Dan and Sheryl’s mother, two brothers and sister-in-law I welcome you to our celebration of her life.  Thank you for coming.  The theme for today’s event is remembering Sheryl Barker.  As you can see from the program we have 3 people speaking to share some reflections on who Sheryl was and,I believe, continues to be.  They were chosen because they have known Sheryl for a long time, especially through her connection with the university.  There are so many others who could have been asked to speak and I hope they will at the reception following and in the days, weeks, and years ahead, share these with one another.  There can be healing. 

I have known Sheryl for a number of years. I was her colleague, her supervisor, her coworker, her fellow advocate for undergraduate students, and I believe friend.  I spoke to her best friend Terry Saxon last night to find out some things that I thought would be appropriate to share with all of you.  The first thing she said was that Sheryl loved to travel.  She had been to Italy, France, Greece, and Turkey.  Just a few weeks ago she went to London with her mother to see her uncle who himself passed away just a few weeks ago.  Sheryl also had the rare ability to travel with Terry and her husband Don and not be a third wheel.  She loved the outdoors, she loved being in nature, she chose to live near the ocean in Montera. She loved hiking, skiing, golfing and anything that had to do with water.  And how she loved dogs.  My guess is that golden retrievers have always been a special part of her life.  And somehow she also loved cats.  I guess it fits.   But Sheryl cared not just for animals.  I think we all being here can attest to that. 

However she did have a special relationship with some of you.  Other than her mother and siblings, and of course Dan, she had a special relationship with Jack and Anna, for whom, Terry told me, she became like their mother. She also had a special relationship with her sister-in-law Sharon.  She will be missed so by them. Terry also said that easy-going would be a good description of Sheryl; just being out and doing things were what mattered and being with those whom she loved.  She also said that Sheryl was someone you could count on, she was reliable, no matter what the situation.  In my own dealings with Sheryl mostly they dealt with students.  We didn’t see eye to eye on all issues and one time when I reversed a decision she made, she came to see me and told me that if I insisted on doing that in the future that she would gladly send all of the student cases to me so she wouldn’t have to deal with it!  I got the point!  I did enjoy talking to her, sharing the realities of becoming parents to our parents, of how to make the experience for our students a better one.  I think all of us would be surprised as to the number of students who would credit Sheryl for their completing their degrees.  I believe it probably in the hundreds if not more.  And that’s what makes it worthwhile the work that we do.  Terry told me that Sheryl was also quite a cook but that the food presentation was at least equal to, if not more important than the food quality.  Her gift for presentation also included how she dressed.  I always remember her being very professional in that department.  Terry said she had a flair for scarves and accessories.  I’ll take her word for it!

There is no doubt that having Sheryl leave us is indeed a sad affair.  However, when I think about it, and I wasn’t the only one who came up with this, several people mentioned it to me: Being on the water, being with someone she loved in Dan, being with her dogs, she must have been at such peace, been in such happiness.  Yes, lets acknowledge our loss but let’s also acknowledge that gift we have been given by having Sheryl in our lives, and we are each better off for knowing her.

Fr. John Koeplin, S.J.

Good afternoon.   I am both honored and humbled to have been asked to share some thoughts with you about our friend, colleague, sister, daughter, and partner, Sheryl … Sherry.  I was never sure which to use Sheryl or Sherry, so today I will use both.

It is way too soon, and completely unfair in all ways that we are saying good-bye to Sherry today.  I had the privilege of knowing Sherry first as a valued colleague at USF and then as a friend.  A colleague who was honest, hard working, conscientious, practical, smart, and caring.  Sherry had the unenviable role of being the one who had to say “no” to many students’ requests, which, as you might imagine, did not always put in her line to win a popularity contest.  But she was always fair, consistent and empathetic. She balanced the big picture with the students’ individual needs.  She was a true student advocate who generously shared her gifts with the literally thousands of business students who benefited from her caring guidance. 

Through the years, Sherry served on numerous committees and task forces here at USF, where she could always be counted on to be thoughtful in her input and prompt in her follow-up.  Even when facing some tough challenges, Sherry would find a way to “deal” in the moment and then going forward work together with colleagues to address the challenge long term.  As you know, undergraduate enrollment has grown considerably in this decade and new student orientation has been changing to more effectively meet the needs of our larger entering classes.  Sheryl was a very important member of the team leading this change and will be sorely missed in the next few weeks as we welcome the fall 2008 new students.  It is so hard for us to realize and understand Sherry is gone and it is a true tragedy that there so many USF business students who will no longer have Sherry in their corner.

As a friend, Sheryl was kind, supportive, dependable, funny and great company.  A group of about a dozen current and former USF colleagues get together once a month to play bridge and eat, of course!  She was actually a much better bridge player than most of us, but she never rubbed it in … not to say she did not let her partners know when they made a bad move … but she did not hold it against us.  The last time we played at Sherry’s she invited those of us who had dogs to bring them too; my dog was a puppy at the time, who could not believe he was free to roam in and out of this house that came equipped with two beautiful golden retrievers as playmates!

As I remember all the wonderful times I shared with Sherry, I have an abiding image of her moving quickly, her wonderful curly hair a halo around her head, laughing into the wind, with her goldens at her side.

In closing I would like to share a Native American poem with you … it speaks to me as I remember Sherry’s love of the outdoors …

Do not stand at my grave and weep
I am not there, I do not sleep
I am a thousand winds that blow
I am the diamond glint on snow
I am the sunlight on the ripened grain
I am the gently falling autumn rain

When you wake in the morning hush
I am the swift up lighting rush
of quiet birds in circling flight
I am the soft starlight at night
Do not stand at my grave and weep
I am not there, I do not sleep

"To live in hearts we leave behind is not to die."

~ Hallowed Ground by Thomas Campbell

Elizabeth J. Johnson, Vice Provost and Dean

           I was very privileged to meet Sheryl sometime in the mid 80’s.  At that time she was an Adjunct Faculty member.  As you all know, within a few years her many skills were recognized and she became the Director of the Undergraduate Business Program.  We found a common interest in golf and we got together as often as our schedules would permit.  She was a better golfer than I but this was not reflected in her game because she was so laid back in her attitude and rarely kept score.  Over the years Sherrie and I would drive up to her parents in Kenwood, play golf with her Father during the day, go back to the house and the four of us would play bridge.  In his later years as his health was declining she asked me if I would rent a golf cart so that her Father would ride.  We always walked the course prior to this.  She said he would believe it if I told him I needed a cart.  I think he saw through the ruse but rode to make us feel better!!  This is just one example of what a kind and caring person Sheryl was.  Her family was very important to her and she tried to take care of her parents as best she could.
            I’d like to give you some examples of the rules of golf as stated by Sheryl: If you hit a poor shot and didn’t have to move your bag, it didn’t count!  If your ball rolled over the hole and didn’t go in, you could still count it as though it had gone in!  And, if at anytime you were a whole club length from the hold it counted as a gimmee whereas the general rule is a gimmee is within the leather!!  Her friend, and mine, Terri Sachs, and I have decided that we will remember Sheryl every time we go into a sand trap as this was a favorite spot of hers.  The reason for this being that when she and I used to play with her Father, Perry, he would often find himself in a sandtrap.  After he passed we would say, ok, I’m going to hit this one out for Perry.  Now we’ll say, let’s hit it out for Perry and Sherri!!
            I’m sure she is getting nothing but hole in ones as she plays her game in Heaven!!!  There is a big void in my life now that she is gone.  She will always be in my prayers.

Sharon Gocha - Assistant Dean (Retired)

           On this sad occasion I offer my sympathy and condolences and those of the entire University community to Sheryl’s family and to her companion Dan Blakely.  You may be sure that you will remain in our thoughts and prayers at this moment of profound loss.
            I presume to speak for the 10,000 plus undergraduate students whom Sheryl touched directly and indirectly for just over twenty years, largely in her capacity as Director of the Undergraduate Business Program here at USF.  On their behalf I say “thank you” for what Sheryl has done to promote our students’ personal, academic and professional growth.  They are the best memorial of a life that was well spent.
            Sheryl’s sudden and untimely death is an invitation to each one of us to step back and review our own lives through the prism of her life.  We remind ourselves yet again that what ultimately matters is not what we have but who we are; what we make of ourselves through the relationships we cultivate with those we love and those who love us.  Your presence is a wonderful testimony to the wealth of relationships that Sheryl enjoyed that all continue to be a part of us.  Sheryl’s dedication and commitment to students, faculty and staff have left a lasting legacy of service and support that few of us will fully emulate but that is no reason for us not to try.
            Let me conclude my remarks with a familiar prayer from our Catholic tradition:
May the angels lead you into paradise, Sheryl.
may the martyrs come to welcome you
and take you to the Holy City,
the new and eternal Jerusalem,
where they shall never again feel hunger or thirst,
where the sun shall not beat on them nor any scorching heat,
because God will be their shepherd and will guide them to the
springs of the water of life; and God will wipe all tears from
their eyes.

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