Cheryl Gardner

Cheryl Lynn “Sherry” (Colpetzer) Gardner, 69, of Pocatello, ID, formerly of Altoona, Pa, passed away early Wednesday morning, December 18, 2024, after a brief but fierce battle with cancer, with her beloved husband by her side. She was born on November 15, 1955, in Altoona, PA.

Sherry was a free spirit with a sharp intellect and vivid imagination, whose life was guided by a deep sense of wanderlust. Her passions included cooking, baking, crafting, drawing, hiking, gardening, activism, and spirituality, but above all, Sherry loved to write. As a single mother of five children with little means, she studied English at Penn State Altoona, and went on to author innumerable short stories, essays, blogs, and poems. She met her soulmate on a Greyhound bus and married him on November 5, 1996. Sherry’s travels took her to every corner of the United States, but no matter which neighborhood she called home, she was a mother to all. Her final journey will conclude when she is laid to rest beside her first-born child and parents.

Sherry is survived by her husband, Rickey Lee Gardner of Pocatello, ID; her sons, Berkano Saxon of Pocahontas, Arkansas, David Andrew (Amanda) Fink and Adam Lee (Teresa) Fink of Pocatello, ID; her daughters, Shannon Renee (William) Ritchey of Fort Drum, NY, and Kelly Suzanne (David) Fink of Winber, PA; stepchildren, Robert (Brittany), David, Tara, Gabriel, and Charity; grandchildren, David M., Elijah, Richie, Adison, Drayton, Freya, Verik, Nicholas (Nicole), Brody (Kassi), Kylie (Khai), Vinzent, Gabriella, Remington, Destiny (Joshua), Shania (Chris), Jason, Mickayla, Matthew, Hunter, Harlie, William, Jamie, Lillie, David A., Zinnia, and Dahlia; three great-grandchildren, Ezra, Charlie, and Whitney; her mother-in-law, Johnnie Gardner; her sisters, Debra (Fred) Hall, Janis Moore, Terri (Lenny) Nelson, and Donna (Ron) Beck; her brother-in-law, Ronald Gardner; her sister-in-law, Cyndee Colpetzer; and numerous nieces, nephews, and other extended family. 

Sherry was preceded in death by an infant son, Earl Frederick Fink, Jr.; parents, Harry and Suzanne (DeLarre) Colpetzer; father-in-law, Ferguson Baker Gardner; brothers, Harry Wayne and Gary Michael Colpetzer; her brothers-in-law, Tom Moore and Kenneth Gardner; and a sister-in-law, Pam Colpetzer. 

Funeral Services will be held on Monday, December 30, 2024 at 9:00 AM at the Riggles Gap Bible Church, 613 Lear Road in Altoona, Pennsylvania. Burial, immediately following the service, will be at the Blair Memorial Park, 3234 E. Pleasant Valley Blvd. Altoona, Pennsylvania.

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