Sharon Kay Dragula's Obituary
Sharon Kay (Sherry) Dragula was born on August 15, 1956 in Chicago, Illinois. Sherry returned to her nourishing mother, her cycle of life complete on March 5, 2011, at the Israel Family Hospice House in Ames. Her abiding love of this beautiful earth and of her family and friends inspired her brief, intense battle with cancer, aided greatly by the doctors, nurses and staff of the Bliss Cancer Center, Mary Greeley Medical Center, and, finally, the hospice. She is survived by her husband of 31 years, Mark Widrlechner, his parents and sister, Peter, Irene, and Eve, her father, Joseph, her sisters and their husbands, Daphne and Joseph Suchecki and Karen and John Heffernan, her aunts, Julia Kroll, Mary Drefcinski, and Jeanne Maguire, nieces and nephews, Sarah and Adam Suchecki and Andrew and Megan Heffernan, and numerous cousins, both in the US and Europe. She was preceded in death by her mother, Mary Dragula (née Maguire). Sherry was a graduate of Glenbrook South HS in Glenview, Illinois, and the University of Illinois. A careful student of geography, she settled with her husband in Ames in 1983. For many years, Sherry was a tireless defender of a healthy environment, dedicated to the protection and restoration of Iowa's natural diversity. She was a devoted supporter of the arts, as an audience member, volunteer and donor, a believer in civic participation, and a generous friend who followed the golden rule. To her last days, she was modest and gracious, yet inwardly determined. She was a passionate life-long learner, who loved to garden, prepare and enjoy food, hike, and observe nature (especially birds). She was a long-time member of many organizations including the National Audubon Society, Sierra Club, Nature Conservancy, Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation, Iowa Ornithologists' Union, Iowa Environmental Council, Iowa Prairie Network, Iowa Native Plant Society, and the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Ames. She served the Big Bluestem Audubon Society in many capacities, including as its President, the Iowa Chapter of the Sierra Club as state office manager, and the Ames Town & Gown Chamber Music Association as its grant writer and representative to the Ames Community Arts Council. Per her wishes, there will be no visitation or funeral, but a celebration of her life will be held in central Iowa over the Memorial Day weekend. For more information about that event or for a list of candidate organizations for memorial gifts, please contact her husband or online condolences may be sent www.grandonfuneralandcremationcare.com Organizations for Donations in Memory of Sharon Kay (Sherry) Dragula (1956-2011) March 2011 Sherry's family suggests the following five organizations as recipients of donations in her memory. She had strong ties to each of them. Thank you. Story County Conservation Friends of Conservation Trust Fund 56461 180th Street Ames, IA 50010 Phone: 515-232-2516 see: http://www.storycounty.com/index.aspx?DN=182,15,6,1,Documents Ames Town & Gown Chamber Music Association Paula Forrest, Artistic Director 3222 Oakland Street Ames, IA 50014 Phone: 515-292-3891 [email protected] Iowa Wildlife Center Marlene Ehresman, Executive Director P.O. Box 2309 Ames, IA 50010-2309 Phone: 515-233-1379 [email protected] The Nature Conservancy, Iowa Office 303 Locust Street, Suite 402 Des Moines, IA 50309 Phone: 515-244-5044 [email protected] Heartland Senior Services 205 South Walnut Avenue Ames, IA 50010 Phone: 515-233-2906 [email protected]
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