Sherie Lee Burwell Stuecher

Sherie Lee Burwell Stuecher was born in Decatur, IL on July 12, 1946 to Helen Keller and Thornton Chase Burwell. The youngest of six children, Ceil, Alan, Robert ‘Bob’, Ginger, and Thomas ‘Tom’, she was the last of the six to pass on from this world. Sherie left this world on Sunday, June 9, 2024 to be reunited with her husband of 45 years, David Wray Stuecher. She is survived by her three loving daughters, Virginia ‘Ginger’ Stuecher, Barbara ‘Jodi’ Fox and Alisyn Stuecher-Dulaney and four grandchildren, Mitchell ‘Mitch’, Bryce, Kristyn and Jennifer McCabe as well as numerous nieces and nephews and other extended family members. 

In 1958, Sherie moved with her family to Clearwater, FL while in grade school and later graduated from Clearwater High School. 

She met David at the Presbyterian church that she and her family attended. Even though their relationship was no fairytale; far from love at first sight and without a storybook wedding, they fell in love and loved each other deeply and eternally. They say “opposites attract”, which was apparent in this match. But, they both shared a thirst for knowledge and love of literature, making them both avid readers. They also both loved to travel and explore the natural world. They shared that love with their children, taking trips and spending vacations in wonderful, beautiful parts of this great country. Serving as both navigator and trip entertainment director, Sherie would play travel games and educate her children about the historical sites, local attractions, and points of interest in the area. 

While living in Thomasville, GA, Sherie worked as an Executive Administrative Assistant for Flower’s Foods and also raised and bred Irish setters. In 1982, she and David decided to take a leap of faith and trust that God would provide, sold their house, packed everything in a Uhaul and moved to the Asheville, NC area. After finding a home in Ridgecrest, NC, she became an Executive Administrative Assistant at Montreat Conference Center in Montreat, NC where she remained until she received an Associate degree in Travel & Tourism from Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College and began working as a travel agent for Blue Ridge Travel Agency. 

Desiring to be closer to nature, they sold their home and moved to Swannanoa. There they lived amongst the animals and the birds with several bird feeders, squirrel feeders & bat houses. Along with their rescue dogs and cats, they enjoyed their mountain scenery and breathtaking views. 

After David suffered a major heart attack and subsequent stroke, Sherie left her job at the travel agency and went to work for Cooper-Bussman. After David’s death in 2009, she worked as a branch office administrator for Edward Jones Investments until her retirement. After retiring, she became a team member of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association in the Training Center at The Cove in Asheville, NC. 

Like most women of her era, she was underutilized and underappreciated. A working mom from 9-5 who ‘brought home the bacon and fried it up in a pan’, she always strove to provide a home full of love and abundant blessings. Instilling her daughters with her independent nature, encouraging them to pursue whatever interests and desires motivated them. Both creative and artistic, she expressed this through her love of knitting and crochet. She blessed others with blankets as presents for weddings and to celebrate the birth of babies. She also donated blankets and hats to the maternity ward at the hospital and made lap blankets for members of Groce United Methodist Church. 

Sherie was a complex person, both mentally and emotionally. A bit of an enigma and a conundrum all rolled up into one. She was very logical and intuitive, but also sentimental and emotional. Fiercely loyal and protective of those she loved, not afraid to stand her ground and be defiant when challenged. She was also fun loving and light hearted, making even the simplest, most mundane parts of life fun and exciting. Playing games in the grocery store, goofing off while running errands, she was not afraid to be silly and enjoy life, regardless of what others might say or what opinions might be expressed. 

She was truly loved and will be deeply missed by friends and family alike. Despite our loss, we are glad that she is free from the scourge of dementia and the torture of being a highly intelligent and fiercely independent individual trapped inside a brain that betrayed her. We are glad that she will now be forever young and beautiful and is now reunited with David in heaven. 

In lieu of flowers, please make donations to any of the following: 

World Wildlife Fund at https://www.worldwildlife.org 

Humane Society Association at https://www.americanhumane.org

Alzheimer's Association at https://www.alz.org