Sherrie Cronin

On the evening of October 23, 2023, Sherrie Roth Cronin peacefully took her last breath, surrounded by love, in the mountains of Western North Carolina. Unsurprisingly, up until the very end of her hard-fought battle with cancer, Sherrie was a pillar of light and strength. Born December 1st, 1954, and raised on the plains of Hays, Kansas, Sherrie had a vivid imagination and big dreams of being an astronaut. She joked that claustrophobia squashed her dream of going to space, so instead, she created new, expansive worlds through her gift of story-telling. Sherrie never let fear stop her from doing anything: she won the state championship for extemporaneous speaking in high school, published a short story in Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine at 21, received degrees from Northwestern University and Colorado School of Mines, canoed 500 miles down the Coppermine River in 1978, spent a career as a geophysicist interpreting seismic data (including time out on the rigs), showed up tirelessly for her husband and three children, designed a beautiful Texas home with a view (from the ground up), launched the hotly anticipated Cronin Christmas letter and family calendar, traveled extensively to 46 countries, drove solo cross-country to Burning Man, volunteered at the local library, with a domestic violence hotline, and for the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association, and still managed to find the time, energy, and inspiration to self-publish 12 full-length novels. The above list could go on (and on). If you were lucky enough to know Sherrie, then you know how her smile lit up a room – but she was so much more than what met the eye. She was fierce, interesting, kind, curious, driven, brilliant, creative, and generous, and she always found joy in the little things. Sherrie loved taking care of the aloe plants in her greenhouse, seeing a jigsaw puzzle come together, driving down the mountain in her green FJ Cruiser, and making bottles of “Mom’s Home Remedy” for her family. She also would’ve written the hell out of this obituary. Sherrie is loved and survived by her sister, June Yvonne Roth Hanson, her husband of 42 years, Kevin Patrick Cronin, her three children, Francis-Casey Roth Cronin, Shenandoah-Marie Vonfeldt Cronin, and Emerald-Teresa McManus Cronin, and her adoring cat, Lucky “Charm”. She is preceded in death by her mom and dad, Mary Jane Vonfeldt Roth and Francis Joseph Roth of Hays, Kansas. Sherrie was a wonderful mom, sister, wife, daughter, and friend, and she will be missed more than words can express. If you would like to honor Sherrie, please consider reading one of her books (available on Amazon under the name S.R. Cronin) [ https://www.amazon.com/stores/author/B08NC9C875 ] Or donating to Helpmate using this link and dedicating the donation to Sherrie Cronin. [ https://interland3.donorperfect.net/weblink/weblink.aspx?name=E90002&id=23 ] If you would prefer to mail a gift to Helpmate, please send it to: Helpmate PO Box 2263 Asheville, NC 28802 Memo line: IMO Sherrie Cronin Helpmate is a local organization that serves survivors of domestic violence. Sherrie cared deeply about this cause and was a dedicated volunteer with Helpmate for many years. A celebration of Sherrie’s life will take place Saturday, November 11th, 2023, at 3 pm at the Lakeview Center Clubhouse at Tomahawk Lake in Black Mountain, NC. The family kindly requests that guests wear Sherrie’s favorite color, green, and especially forest green if they have it.

Tributes

Sherrie Cronin

December 1, 1954 - October 23, 2023