Remembering Sher and a Life Lived for Others

 

Sher with her CMC student, 2010

Sher with her CMC student, 2010

We celebrate the life of Sher Jasperse  tutor, grant writer, board/committee member of the Catherine McAuley Center for 20 years. Most importantly, we are incredibly blessed to have called her our friend. We miss her dearly, but her generous spirit remains alive here at CMC. Last year, Sher was honored with the Governor’s Volunteer Award, to which she said, “I’m humbled with this award as there are so many worthy volunteers at CMC”.

Her incredible gift for empathy is conveyed in this poem she penned about the Catherine McAuley Center in 2012.For the Catherine McAuley Center Through the vortex of violence, displacement and refugee camps, she waited long years with her children, unknowing, and came at last to this place. With no possible future, he hugged his parents and followed his cousins north across the border, riding for days in the back of a truck, unknowing, until he came to this place. Her sentence served and addictions at bay, she stepped out, hopeful, unknowing. “This time will be different,” she said, “if I can find my place.” The voices of students and tutors weave a cocoon of sanctuary on a forbidding December day. In this place, said the foundress, “Be sure to give them a cup of tea.” Teach. Shelter. Transform.

It was Sher’s gift of words conveyed through numerous grants and articles that helped the us be where we are today. Her open, embracing nature created an extensive network of friends. “Sher is so open and loving and has faith in the good in people–all people. The way she talked to them, looked at them; she is so accepting of everybody. That is what made her who she is,” says former CMC staff member and friend, Amelia Waddle.

Sher, you carried out the Catherine McAuley Center mission in so many ways, and you touched our lives and the lives of so many. Thank you for giving so much of yourself and showing us the way to live our lives for others. 

Please click on the following links to learn more about Sher’s amazing life, her dedication to our community and the ways she shared so freely of her time, her gifts, and her love.

“All About Giving”– The Gazette

In Her Own Words– Obituary, The Gazette

“Sher Joins Heavenly Writing Team Now”– Metro Sports Report