Linda and I Lost a Friend Today

Sherry Liebel passed away this morning. Linda and I have only known her for a few years, but she made quite an impression on us. 

Before she retired, Sherry was an LVN who worked in the Neonatal ICU at Kaiser Hospital in San Diego. The part of her job that she loved was that of holding and rocking these little, sick babies. She loved these little ones so much that she actually got in trouble at times when she was told to just leave the dying ones alone -- take care of the ones where there was hope for the future. She would hold these little, dying babies as they slowly passed away. She was a giver -- and a lover -- a compassionate woman. In 1990, my first Granddaughter was born at Kaiser. It was not long before she was placed in ICU. Linda and I along with my daughter and husband were frightened, but the ICU was good -- Hayley got better and now is a beautiful young woman. I believe that one of the wonderful care givers for Hayley was Sherry. I don't know that for sure, but it gave me a sense of connection thinking that this might have been the case.

I became Pastor of Bay View Baptist church in 2006. One of our mainstays in the church was Diane Strader. She was a nurse and had a group of nurses that she met with on occasion. Somewhere around 2010 or so, Diane brought a friend to church, Sherry. Sherry was a Christian, but like many of us wasn't particularly religious. I wasn't sure that Sherry would stick around, but she fooled me, she began to attend every Sunday. Then, in 2012, Diane moved to Oceanside and stopped attending. Now, I really wondered whether Sherry would continue attending. She did! She not only attended, she became a real spark plug in the church. It seemed like whenever someone was in need, Sherry was always there; she was a compassionate woman. She visited the sick and dying. She gave financially to help out those in need. All of this was done by a very proper lady. She always dressed for church -- she was proper. Her hair was always just so (I found out later, she wore wigs a lot.)

Before she ever attended, she had gone through a bout of cancer, but seemed to recover. Last year the cancer recurred with a vengeance. Sherry went through chemotherapy with hardly any complaining. This is when I realized that she wore wigs. We prayed fervently for her healing. It seemed like the prayers were effective because Sherry was doing so well. She had little pain and was always in good spirits. She continued to love the people; she was a compassionate woman. Late last year she asked me to baptize her. This was a high point, not only in her life, but in the life of the church. She was so excited! She gave a wonderful testimony -- and she didn't wear her wig. I never saw her with a wig again. She was beautiful. She was down to earth. Indeed she lit up our lives.

Then she began to take a turn for the worse. She couldn't eat. She lost weight. Yet, she never lost her smile. She continued to serve and bless others. She didn't complain -- and she still had no pain! Then, just a few weeks ago, she began to move toward the end. She was taken care of by her loving friend, Gloria. Then she entered hospice. Finally, she not only couldn't eat, she couldn't even hold down water.

She became a special friend to my wife Linda. We went to visit her on Thursday night. She was so frail and weak, yet she smiled and talked -- and still no pain. She tried to take her pills but couldn't hold anything down. She rolled over and said, "I want my mom!" Linda held her. I kissed her forehead and she kissed my cheek. We prayed. That was the last time we saw her. Gloria called this morning and told us that she was gone. She will be missed! Linda and I lost a friend this morning.