Obituary of Laura V. Sherman

SHERMAN, Laura V., 86, of Duxbury, MA, formerly of Wilton, CT, and Needham, MA, passed away April 15, 2014 surrounded by family. She was born May 8, 1927 in Queens, New York, the daughter of the late Walter and Victoria Gritz. Laura is preceded in death by herbrothers Bernard and Lawrence and her beloved husband of 61 years, Edward. She is survived byher eight children and their spouses: Peter Sherman (Nancy) of Sugar Land TX, Lauren Sherman of Marlborough, MA, Virginia Neff (Alvin) of Groton, MA, Mark Sherman (Lori) of Boxborough, MA, Michael Sherman (Laurie) of Wilton, CT, Christopher Sherman (Mary Alisa) of Duxbury, MA, Carolyn Singer (Paul) of Seattle, WA, and JR Sherman (Lora) of Wilton, CT, as well as 21 grandchildren and four great grandchildren; she is also survived by her sister Barbara Petrocelli of Smithtown, NY. ?Laura attended P.S. 50 in Jamaica Queens, NY, class of 1941, and graduated in 1945 from Our Lady of Wisdom Academy in Ozone Park, NY. She was the Valedictorian of the 1948graduating class at Mary Immaculate Hospital School of Nursing. She began her nursing careeras a Civil Service Staff Nurse at St. Albans Naval Hospital in NY. After settling in Pittsfield, MA with her new husband Edward, Laura worked as a Labor and Delivery nurse at Pittsfield General Hospital. She specialized in Lamaze instruction, a passion she continued until 1956. After 26 yearsraising her eight children, Laura returned to work as a School and Community Nurse in Fairfield County, CT, until she retired in 2000. ?A devout Catholic, Laura was active at her Parish Church as a Lector and member of the Altar Guild. She believed deeply that her most important role was being a mother. Her dedication to her family superseded all of her other pursuits and the sacrifices she made for her children were unceasing. Laura thrived most when she was around people and possessed anopen and enthusiastic approach to life. She embodied the word “perseverance” and never acknowledged the word “fail.” Her loss will be felt profoundly by all of her family and friends.Laura’s family is extremely grateful to all of hermany healthcare providers, for thecompassionate care they provided to her during the last year of her life. ?Visiting hours will be held from 4-8:00 p.m. on Tuesday, April 22nd at the Shepherd Funeral Home, 216 Main St (rt. 106), Kingston. A Mass celebrating Laura’s life will be held 11:00 a.m. Wednesday, April 23rd at Holy Family Catholic Church in Duxbury. In Lieu of flowers donations in Laura’s name may be made to Catholic Charities of Boston at http://www.ccab.org.