We are devastated to announce the passing of Sherry Connett on June 4, 2026 from complications of an acute stroke. If you had the good fortune of knowing Sherry, you know she fiercely loved her family and friends, making this loss more profound.
Sherry was born in Evanston, IL to Bruce and Nancy Johnson. She grew up in Glenview, IL with her older brother Jim and younger sister Laura. At a young age, Sherry took care of others volunteering with children with special needs, babysitting, and mastering her skills on the piano. She graduated from Glenbrook South in 1977.
Sherry’s free spirit and determination to make it to California led her to Lincoln, NE. She told stories of flying into a corn field, walking onto the tarmac with her two suitcases from high school graduation, and taking a job at the newly opened Red Lobster. Sherry dreamed of a simple, responsible, and self-reliant life. In Lincoln, she met life-long friends and built her family. She married David Connett in 1982, and they had three children, Meghan, Deva, and Charlie. Charlie was born prematurely with Down Syndrome. David and Sherry divorced in 1990, and Sherry raised her children as a single mom. She became rooted to her life in Nebraska and found direction in creating her own family.
Sherry was a resourceful problem solver who balanced the joys and duties of motherhood with hard work. She balanced jobs like babysitting and cleaning houses while creating a loving home and advocating for Charlie’s educational and medical needs. Eventually Sherry put herself through school and received her associates degree in Health and Human Services through Southeast Community College graduating in 1998. She worked as a paraprofessional before teaching in the piano lab at Park Middle School for more than 10 years. She used summers away from Park Middle School to run SumFun Day Camp, creating life-long memories for kids with intellectual disabilities. This led to a full-time job at Lincoln Parks and Recreation as the Assistant Center Director at Easterday Recreation Center. There she managed programming for adults and children with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Sherry worked for Lincoln Parks and Recreation from 2005-2024 and has an honorary brick in the Sunken Gardens. Throughout her life, she advocated for people with special needs and believed strongly in the abilities of all people.
She dedicated 40 years of her life to taking care of Charlie with love, duty, patience, and acceptance. Through the process, she became a skilled nurse, advocate, and talking-device programmer. As a mom, she knew what Charlie needed before anyone else did which allowed him to overcome challenges. That was Sherry—steadfast, loving, gentle, and unshakeably present. In her retirement, they traveled often to Los Angeles and Iowa City to visit his sisters, but Charlie was always happiest being at home with his mom, sharing the kind of everyday moments that meant the most to him. Their bond was a fierce, joyful, enduring force. When Charlie passed away in February 2026, she shared how it was a privilege and joy to be his mom. She leaned on family and friends during this time of immense loss traveling to see her grandchildren, daughters, and creating new routines with friends.
Above all else, Sherry loved being a mom and grandma. She was the heart and rock of the family. She created a home for her children full of fun, stability, and comforting memories, baking, club volleyball trips, backyard games, and encouraging educational opportunities outside of Nebraska. Nights after dinner were spent doing chores together while music played from the very fancy “under the counter mounted music player.” We danced to songs by the Moody Blues, Eric Clapton, the Grateful Dead and the Goofy version of There’s a Hole in My Bucket. Summers were for hide and seek across the neighborhood and Nick at Nite shows. The school year included reading stacks of books and homework, but always sitting together to watch Coach, Murphy Brown or ER. Being together was always front and center. Sherry created a foundation for her children and grandchildren to grow and was proud to see them venture out just as she had.
Sherry had many hobbies but one of the top ones was gardening. She perfected the conditions for flowers, tomatoes, green beans, broccoli, snap peas, and peppers in her backyard garden. She knew the exact depth to plant the tomato, to pull the small leaves away before planting, to make it smaller but stronger, so it could grow. At harvest, tomatoes would cover the counters and table, and she would boil, season, and can the tomato sauces and salsa, gifts treasured by her family.
Sherry was a woman who knew what she liked and didn’t. She loved the Blue Angels, often sitting on the top floor of the parking garage at the Lincoln airport while they practiced their routes. She loved weak coffee, cotton clothing, Birkenstocks, green beans, and a clean house. She didn’t like heights, rollercoasters, potatoes, and cold water. She had ways of finding goodness in all people, even during dark times. She had a competitive spirit, never backing down from a good over the door basketball hoop game with her grandson Freddy and neighborhood water balloon fights, often the first to ditch the water balloons to bring out the hose. She cared deeply for her community, creating connection and inclusion. She taught her children to check on neighbors, to pull people up when they are down, and to work towards leaving behind a better space than you found it. Sherry gave so much to this world; beyond what most people know is possible.
She is survived by daughters, Deva and Meghan Connett, son in law, Scott Sherman, grandchildren, Frederick and Dorothy Sherman, sister, Laura (Steve) Pittner and brother, Jim (Connie) Johnson. She was preceded in death by parents, Nancy Heinsohn and Bruce Johnson and son, Charlie Connett.
A Celebration of Life will be held for Sherry from 2:00-4:00 pm on July 2, 2026at Metcalf Funeral Home, 245 N 27th street, Lincoln, NE. If sending flowers, please send to the Funeral home prior to service.
Donations may be made to:
- People’s City Mission – Sherry believed strongly in caring for other people and gave often to the Mission.
- Please click “Dedicate my donation in honor or in memory of someone”. Select Memory and include Sherry Connett in the name field
- Lincoln Parks & Recreation- Sherry worked for parks and recreation for 24 years. A brick in honor of her work can be found at Sunken Gardens.
- Donate at: https://lincolnparks.org/donate/
- Please designate adaptive recreation activities or Sunken Gardens and include Sherry’s name in the memo.