Sheryl Owen

On June 1, 1940 in Waterloo, Iowa, proud parents Robert and Linda Gange welcomed their firstborn baby girl, and named her Sheryl Katharine Gange. Everyone would come to call her Sherry. Later, would come a little sister, Lynette. When her mother became seriously ill, Sherry and her sister went to live with their maternal grandparents in Readlyn, Iowa. There, she attended the small school up the road from her grandparent's home. She enjoyed baking bread with grandma, and watching cottage cheese being made from scratch. She picked apples from the orchard across the way, and helped make pies. She loved to sing, and at 11 years old, blessed everyone when she sang The Lord's Prayer at her grandparents' 50th wedding anniversary. Sherry took a likin' to the country life and stayed for a time at the farm of her aunt and uncle and cousins in Waverly, Iowa. She found that she really enjoyed the whole new way of life that came from living on a farm. She was always a hard worker and adapted easily to working in the fields, quickly learning to bale hay, feed pigs, and milk cows. But it was not all work. On the farm, she experienced the miracle of new life as she watched calves and sheep being born. She rode her cousin's horse and had two dogs to run and play with. At night, she loved to lie out in the newly mown grass and look at the stars. She always loved the country. In 1952, her family moved to Vallejo, California where her father worked at Mare Island Naval Shipyard. Sherry was 14 years old when in 1954, her mother passed away. Her father later remarried and the family moved south to the historic Highland Park Neighborhood of Los Angeles. From there, the family moved to Covina, California, where Sherry attended Covina Union High School. At 17, Sherry struck out on her own, while continuing her high school studies. During her senior year, at a Career Day event, Mr. William Adrian of the William Adrian Teen Models Agency presented a session on modeling. With her hourglass figure and striking good looks, Sherry was selected from among some 300 girls who were interested in becoming models, to do a photo shoot poolside at the renowned Green Hotel in Pasadena. Although it wasn't her final career choice, for a time Sherry modeled for local stores when a show or new arrivals were being presented. In high school, under a school-to-work program, Sherry learned the business world. After graduating in 1958 she began to hone her newly acquired skills, working in a variety of business and administrative positions. In October 1959, she gave birth to her firstborn son, Steven and became a single parent. In 1961 Sherry married John Stephen “Steve” Hazell, and together they continued raising her young son. They enjoyed camping, taking their boat to the Colorado River in Arizona, and racing cars at a local racetrack. Their union brought forth added joy in the birth of a second son, Richard, in 1962; however the marriage ended in 1967. In 1969, while working at Aerojet General in Azusa, California she met Thomas W. Owen. During this period, she battled a number of serious health issues, which resulting in her having to have a kidney removed. Sherry married Tom Owen in 1970. The family moved to Sheridan, Wyoming, Tom's hometown and lived there for approximately five months. Due to Sheryl's forthcoming pregnancy, they moved closer to her husband's trucking company in Forsyth to Miles City and there Mr. Owen legally adopted her son Steven. There, they enjoyed a way of life that was quite different from life in Southern California. Tom was a professional truck driver and Sherry enjoyed the occasional long trip in the truck. In 1971, the family was blessed by the birth of a baby girl, Lisa. Just two months later the family grew from 5 to 10, when Tom's five children from a previous marriage came to live with them. Handling eight children, almost single-handedly because of Tom's driving schedule, was a tough challenge for Sherry and for her marriage. After only a year, the children went back to live with their mother in Arizona. When her youngest stepdaughter died tragically at the age of 5, the void left by her death brought more sorrow to an already-troubled marriage, and it ended in divorce in 1976. Sherry accepted Jesus Christ as her Lord and Savior and united with the First Assembly Pentecostal Church in Miles City, MT. Sherry worked at Miles City Courthouse and with the Social Services Department. In October of 1976, Sherry returned to California with only her daughter, making the heart-wrenching decision to leave behind her boys who were already settled in with their fathers. It was an emotionally difficult choice, but she knew she would be starting over with little money, and that housing for her and three children wasn't affordable, or available. She made the choice to do what she believed was best for all her children. After moving back to California, she became a member of Covina Assembly, where she used her beautiful soprano voice in the choir. She also sang at weddings, and women's clubs. In 1977, Sherry began her second Southern California career. She became an all-around secretary for Van Schaack and Company, an insurance agent for Continental Airlines. She loved the work there and gained lifelong friends in her boss, Mr. Ray Larson and his wife, Charlotte. She worked for the company until 1979 when she took a job with Federal Electric Corporation (FEC), which was a contractor for Caltech's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California. JPL is one of ten research and development centers for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). In 1983, when FEC's contract ended, Sherry became a direct employee of JPL. During her 23 years with JPL she worked in varying secretarial positions in several sections. She supported many successful space missions, including the Galileo mission to Jupiter and the Shuttle Imaging Radar Program. At JPL, she was known as someone who got things done. In 2001, she received NASA's Space Flight Awareness Award for her contributions to NASA's mission, and with it a weeklong trip to Florida. While there, she and other NASA Awardees toured NASA's John F. Kennedy Space Center and got a chance to view the launch of the Space Shuttle Endeavor when STS-105 blasted off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. In 2005, amidst a shrinking budget, Sherry along with many others at JPL was faced with the proposition of a layoff. Unlike many of the others, Sherry could choose retirement. After retirement, Sherry was able to devote more time to her small business as a distributor for New Spirit Naturals, a company, which developed and sold high-quality, natural, health and wellness products. She had become a distributor for New Spirit in 1990, and a promoter of natural health products and naturopathy earlier because of her own health challenges. It was due to her health issues that throughout her adult life, Sherry strongly advocated for people suffering from Rheumatoid Arthritis or hearing loss. She loved working with computers and was an avid researcher. She had a strong interest in medicine and law and was a voracious reader of publications in these fields. She also took Paralegal courses for two years. She used the information she learned to help herself, and just as often to help others. A fighter from the beginning, Sherry continued throughout her life to fight for justice, and to be an advocate for others who were similarly fighting. After retirement Sherry remained in California for another 5 years, the last of which she spent in her daughter's home in Glendora. In 2012, she made a tremendously gutsy move back to Montana, where she maintained her interest in computers, health, and law, and also continued as a distributor for New Spirit Naturals. Look up world; there she goes! On January 30, 2021, the immortal spirit of our dear Sherry departed her physical body, which was wrapped in mortality, as it is for all of us. She now rests in peace in the presence of her Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, and with the spirits of her mother and father who predeceased her in 1954 and 1976, and Brandi Marie Owen, her grandchild, age 6, in 1990 respectively and all the other family members who went before her. Surviving Sherry are her sons: Steven Owen of Billings, MT and Richard Hazell (Tammy) of Murrieta, CA; daughter, Lisa (Albert Ramirez) of Glendora, CA; grandchildren, Mandi Owen (and partner Bill Bird) of Glendora, CA; Chelsey Garcia (Daniel) of Murrieta, CA; and Zachary Hazell (Shelby) of Menifee, CA; one great-grandchild, Zoe Bird; sister, Lynette Redshaw of Corvallis, OR; two nieces; Linda Atchison of Cumberland, RI, and Yolanda Lariviere (Mark), of Woodsocket, RI Island; a nephew, Mark Doyon of Providence, RI; cousin, Nancy Miller (John) of Waterloo, IA; Step-family Katherine Doucett (Gene), of Apple Valley, CA; William Atkins (Evelyn) of Oak Hills, CA; and Betty Stavola of Sun City, FL; a loving and faithful caregiver who always went the extra mile in love, Connie Glass (Ron) of Billings, MT; and many dear, longtime loyal friends. Sheryl would like to recognize a long time dear friend from her employment at JPL, Annie Richardson, who unselfishly through her heavy work schedule, wrote her Obituary and Biography. Cremation has followed. A memorial at Dahl Funeral Chapel will be livestreamed here. Dahl Funeral Chapel is in charge of arrangements. Condolences can be sent to DahlFuneralchapel.com and in lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Sheryl's two areas of support, St. Joseph's Indian School, Norrh Dakota or Paralyzed Veteran's of America. The Memorial Service will be livestreamed below. If the video does not start immediately, please refresh your browser.