Sharon Eileen Smith died on Feb. 7 at Mercy Health-Lourdes Hospital in Paducah, Kentucky following a hemorrhagic stroke. She was 70 years old, and is very much missed by her family and friends.

Sherry, as she was known throughout her life, was born in Paducah on March 28, 1953 to Sam L. Smith, a newspaperman who was later to become the editor of The Metropolis Planet, and his wife Louise. Sherry was the much-loved oldest child, of five lively children. She spent her early years in southern Illinois and Indiana, where her father held several newspapering jobs.

Sherry attended school in Metropolis. She was a good student, and graduated from Metropolis Community High School in 1971. Soon after graduating she married John Wells Jr., a native of the Metropolis area.

They lived for a while in Dyersburg Tennessee, where John worked for the Kroger company, before moving back to Metropolis, where John worked at IGA and they started a family.  They had two daughters, Amy and Laura -  now Amy Lynn Henson of Metropolis, and Laura Grace Aello of Murfreesboro, Tennessee. In 1994 their marriage ended.

Sherry was awarded a bachelor's degree from Murray State University in 2003. She held a series of jobs throughout her life, including at the Good Luck Glove Company in Metropolis and Players' Riverboat Casino.

Sherry was an art and music lover with a feisty sense of humor. She especially liked the decorative arts and enjoyed doing homemade arts and crafts, making wall hangings, paintings and decorated shelves for her family.

In her later years Sherry devoted a great deal of time to her mother, Louise Smith, who lived in a retirement community in Glen Carbon, Illinois and died in January 2024. Sherry joined a church in that area, the First Baptist Church of Edwardsville.

Survivors include Sherry's two daughters, Amy and Laura; her partner Jim Hines; four grandchildren, Nico, Mateo, Cristian and Lucas Aello; three brothers, Stephen, Dan and Mike Smith; one sister, Susan Cornwell; and numerous nephews and cousins. She was preceded in death by her parents.

A funeral service will be held at 1 p.m. on Friday, February 23, 2024 at Sunset Hill Funeral Home in Glen Carbon. Sherry will be buried next to her parents in Sunset Hill Cemetery.

The family ask that in lieu of flowers, donations be made to First Baptist Church of Edwardsville, 534 St. Louis Street, Edwardsville IL 62025.