RIP Sherill and Leslie

Sherill, 1943-2010


ABOVE: Sherill on the right with my father-in-law and my daughter

Technically speaking, Sherill was my stepmother-in-law. The subsequent wife to my wife's father. She was a remarkable woman with a strong, fighting spirit. From the first time that I met Sherill, she was welcoming, kind to me, and engaging. A woman of many talents and interests, bursting with life and energy. In fact, on our first meeting she beat my ass quite handily on the tennis court, and I was playing hard. Thinking she was an old lady, I tried to hit shots on opposite ends of the court to make her run and tire her out. But since she was one of the highest ranked senior doubles players in Texas, I didn't really have a chance. It seems that Sherill had the same strategy in mind, and her shots were much more precise than mine. By the end of our match, I was the one panting and needing to rest. From that first day on, I really liked Sherill. Kindred spirits in some ways, we both didn't like to lose. The lady had spunk.

She was a educator and school administrator for 25 years, a tax specialist, and generous volunteer for a host of local charities. She continued into the last year of her life to teach, designing and teaching continuing education courses for seniors on topics from the First Ladies of the U.S. to the Wives of Henry VIII (a course that she completed teaching only months ago as she was battling the end stages of her cancer). I can recall many an evening visiting her and my father-in-law, where we would engage in a spirited political debate, discuss some historical minutia that we found intriguing, or even pull out some cards and play poker (she was a killer card player, too). She visited all 50 states of the Union just to do it, worked as a park ranger one summer and drove to every county in the state of Texas with her husband in an RV, photographed and researched each county courthouse, and published a book on the subject.

I admired her and loved her a great deal. Sure she was my step mother-in-law, but she was also a good friend. She battled her cancer valiantly. It seems like we've been hearing that Sherill's diagnosis was "six months to live" for years, but this last Saturday it finally did catch up with her. She had an indominable spirit, and as late as Friday night she was wrestling with that f*cking disease like a fighter in the ring. Fortunately I was not there to witness it, because from what I was told by my wife it was a horrific evening, but she was fighting to the last. She had a strong faith in God which gave her the strength to battle her disease for these last years, so I have to believe that if such things exist, she is now walking peacefully in His presence. God bless you Sherill, and thank you for your years of friendship, kindness, and wonderful conversation. I always looked forward to visiting with you. I wish that my daughter could have gotten to know you better, since you seemed to really enjoy her.

Leslie Nielsen, 1926-2010



Believe it or not, I have a personal connection of sorts with Leslie Nielsen. My Dad, for several decades, looked exactly like Nielsen. So much so that he would be stopped in airports and approached at dinner by fans asking for autographs. Sometimes he would politely inform them that he was not, in fact, Frank Drebin. When he was feeling cheeky, my Dad would oblige and then sign his own name for the suddenly very confused Leslie Nielsen fan. I was not even immune to his trickery. When I was quite little, Nielsen was on TV doing some PSA. My Dad proceeded to convince me that he was on television.


ABOVE: Neilsen's earlier career consisted mainly of heroic and serious parts, such as in the sci-fi classic Forbidden Planet

I have always been fond of Nielsen not only due to his uncanny resemblance to my father, but also because he has provided our popular culture with some wonderful comedic moments. Nielsen spent most of his career playing the stoic leading (or often supporting) heroic man in such films as Forbidden Planet and The Poseidon Adventure. But evidently he always wanted to try comedy, being a notorious jokster on the sets of his films. It wasn't until he was almost 50 that he was able to give comedy a shot with his immortal turn as the deadpan doctor in 1980's Airplane!, and he hit it out of the park. After that he was Frank Drebin in the short lived Police Squad TV show and three Naked Gun films, continuing to explore his newfound comedic greatness.


ABOVE: Some dude on YouTube re-edited Airplane! scenes and added music to make a trailer like it was an intense thriller instead of comedy. Very creative. Some great Leslie Nielsen scenes are here, of course.

RIP Sherill and Leslie Nielsen.