10/05/2026
Memorial Monday:
Sharon Rosalee Bennett Blackstock
6-21-59 to 7-16-13
A Life Filled With Faith, Laughter, and Love
The life of Sharon Rosalee Bennett Blackstock—“Sherry” to those who knew and loved her— was one filled with humor, faith, and an incredible amount of love.
To me, she was so much more than my mother. She was my best friend, my teacher, my biggest supporter, and, when necessary, my judge. She helped shape the person I became, and there are pieces of her in so many parts of my life that it would be impossible to tell her whole story in just a few paragraphs.
Sherry was born on June 21, 1959, to Julius Leroy Bennett and Janice Hicks Bennett. She spent her childhood in the community of Wylam, Alabama, where she attended and graduated from Katherwood Christian School. She later attended Herzing Institute and graduated before eventually going to work at Walmart. It was there that she met my father.
They were married on April 24, 1993, in Dora, Alabama, and began their life together in Tuscaloosa.
More than anything, my mother wanted to be a mom. Doctors had told her throughout her life that she would never be able to have children. But in July 1994, I was born, and in October 1995, my sister followed.
Motherhood wasn't simply part of her life. It became the center of it.
She became a stay-at-home mom, and she took that job very seriously. She cooked, she cleaned, and somehow managed to keep the two of us in somewhat of a straight line. She played games with us, listened to us, taught us, worried about us, and loved us without condition.
If my sister or I were involved in something, Mom was there. It didn't matter what the event was—you could count on seeing her in the crowd, and you could usually count on hearing her before you saw her. She was always our loudest cheerleader.
Her faith was just as much a part of her as her love for her family.
Growing up, we never had to wonder what my mother believed. She was a devout Christian, but her faith wasn't something she simply talked about—it was something she tried to live every day.
One lesson she made sure my sister and I understood came from Hebrews 13:2:
“Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.”
She taught us that you never really know who God may place in your path. She would stop and pray for someone regardless of where we were or what we were doing. If somebody needed kindness, encouragement, prayer, or simply someone to care, Sherry tried to be that person.
As the years passed, diabetes and heart failure began taking a greater toll on her health. She couldn't do everything she once could, and life forced her to slow down. But being sick never stopped her from being our mother. She continued showing up for her children in every way her body would allow.
In 2009, she became deathly ill. Financial struggles and her declining health eventually brought our family back to Dora, where we moved next to my grandmother—her mother, Janice.
And somehow, even after everything life had thrown at her, Sherry adapted.
Before long, that familiar laugh was back.
One of the things I remember most about my mother is that you very seldom saw her without a smile. No matter how difficult things became, she could crack a joke. She could walk into a room and bring laughter with her. She had a way of making people feel comfortable, loved, and welcome.
That is how so many people remember her.
Not simply as someone who endured sickness or hardship, but as Sherry—the woman laughing, joking, praying for somebody, loving her family, and finding a reason to smile even when life wasn't giving her many reasons to.
In July 2013, my mother passed away quietly in her sleep.
Knowing how sick she had become, there was some comfort in knowing that her passing was peaceful. And as much as I missed her then—and as much as I still miss her today—I believed she had gone somewhere her body could no longer hurt her.
There would be no more diabetes.
No more heart failure.
No more struggling just to do the things she wanted to do.
She was finally at peace.
The hardest part about writing something like this is knowing that these words don't even begin to tell her story.
They can't capture the millions of memories she made with us.
They can't explain the billions of hopes and dreams she carried for her children.
They can't recreate her laugh, the sound of her cheering from the crowd, the jokes she told, the prayers she prayed, the meals she cooked, the games we played, or all those ordinary moments that didn't seem particularly important at the time—but mean everything now.
And they certainly can't fully explain what it felt like to be loved by her.
My mother wasn't perfect. None of us are. But she gave everything she had to being the best mother, wife, daughter, friend, and Christian woman she knew how to be. She loved people, and people loved her.
More than thirteen years later, I still find pieces of her everywhere.
In the things she taught me.
In the way I remember my childhood.
In the stories our family still tells.
In my own children and the things I wish she could have been here to see.
And in those moments when something happens and, for just a second, I still wish I could pick up the phone and tell her about it.
So, if you've made it this far, thank you for listening to me ramble about someone who meant—and still means—so much to me.
Her name was Sharon Rosalee Bennett Blackstock.
To many people, she was Sherry.
But I was lucky enough to call her Mom.
And I will love and remember her for the rest of my life.
— Jacob
A Little Story About How Sherry and I Became Friends
By Debbie Shivers
Years ago, Sherry and I met online in a chat room. We got to know each other through the internet and then through phone calls. As the years went on, we became closer and closer.
Then one year, while we were talking, I suggested that I make a visit to Alabama. She thought that was a wonderful idea. So, in June of 2005, Zack and I made the trip to Tuscaloosa, Alabama.
Sherry informed her mother that we were making a trip to Alabama, and her response was, “You don’t know her that well. She might harm the kids or the family!”
Sherry’s answer to that was, “She is a very kind woman, and I love her as a SISTER.”
I got to meet Sherry’s mom, and we had lots of laughs. I heard later that she decided I was cool!
The trip was an amazing experience that I will never forget. I even made an album of our trip. We were taken to many different places, including Rocky Branch Park Swimming Hole, Vulcan Park, and the zoo, where Sherry knew that I would enjoy seeing the butterflies.
We had the time of our lives.
I saw Sherry through some very hard and emotional times, as well as some very good times. I watched Jacob and Amber grow up to become fine young people.
Sherry had a love for so many things in life—music, sports, and, most of all, her family. I heard so many wonderful stories over the years.
We would stay up late talking, laughing, and giggling. When one of us was down, the other would make a comment or say something funny to make everything a little better.
Over all the years that we knew each other, she was always so proud of her children and their accomplishments in life. Just a few days ago, she was telling me about how much Jacob loved his new job and how proud she was of her son. She had also just told me that Amber’s senior pictures were amazing and how proud she was of her daughter.
Your mom had so much love for you both that whenever she talked about the things you did, I could just see the smile on her face.
Heaven now has another ANGEL watching over all of her family and friends.
May you now be at peace, my friend.
I love you so much.
-Deb
