Dagmar P. Sherrard

Asheville - Mrs. Dagmar Peterson Sherrard passed away at the age of 91 on Saturday, April 6, 2013. Dagmar was born and raised in Atlanta, GA, the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. P.A. Peterson and sister of Clifford, who predeceased her during World War II. She graduated from North Avenue Presbyterian School (NAPS) in 1939, then attended and graduated from Marjorie Webster Jr. College in Washington D.C. While at college, she and her classmates had the honor of attending a tea at the White House hosted by First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt. This story always made her family chuckle because we knew her to be an outspoken political conservative. After college Dagmar returned to Atlanta where she did some modeling and worked for Eastern Airlines as a ground flight instructor on their "newfangled" flight simulator. Although she enjoyed her work and loved her hometown of Atlanta, little did she know how much life would change for her when she met Wright Jacob Sherrard (Jake), a young Air Force pilot back from the war who was then stationed at Fort Benning, GA. They married in June of 1946 and embarked on the adventure of moving all over the globe that is the way of life for military families. Soon after marriage they moved to Austin, TX, the first of many moves the couple would make in Jake's 35 year career with the Air Force. Jake and Dagmar enjoyed many wonderful stations around the world including Moscow, Russia (then the Soviet Union), where Jake was assigned to the embassy, Frankfurt, Germany and Paris, France. Once back in the U.S., they bounced from the west coast (California) to the east coast (Cape Cod) and many places in between, before retiring in 1973. Needless to say Dagmar became an expert at packing up, moving and creating a new nest that felt like home for her husband and daughters at an instants notice. Dagmar and Jake enjoyed the first 30 years of their retirement living in Tallahassee, FL with summers spent at their much loved home on top of Beech Mountain, NC. In 2002, they left Tallahassee to move to Deerfield Episcopal Retirement Community in Asheville, NC. The family would like to thank all of the folks at Deerfield for their thoughtfulness, support and kind care of not only Dagmar these past few months but also Jake in the years prior to his death in 2008. The family would also like to thank the staff of Care Partners Hospice, John Keever Solace Center and Dagmar's wonderful caregiver Roberta Pearcy. Dagmar is survived by two of her three daughters: Debbie Ringstrom of Saugerties, NY; Kista Bryant (sadly deceased in 2003) of Lenoir, NC and Donna Leonard of Asheville, NC. She is also survived by a grandson Jake Ringstrom of Denver, CO and three son in-laws (Melvin Ringstrom, Travis Bryant and Pete Leonard). Dagmar gave freely of her love, time, resources and talents to her family, friends, charities and churches throughout her life. She was full of boundless energy right up to her last summer on Beech Mountain where at age 91she still played golf, bridge and entertained friends and family. Once back at Deerfield in November of 2012, she was proud to still be able to prepare and host the family Thanksgiving just as she had done her entire life. She enjoyed her life, often reflected on her many blessings and faced her death with bravery, grace and peace. A memorial service is scheduled for 2:00 pm on Wednesday, April 10 at St. Giles Chapel, Deerfield Retirement Community on Hendersonville Rd., Asheville, NC. She will be buried at Arlington National Cemetery beside her husband of 62 years, General W.J. Sherrard. In lieu of flowers, the family requests for memorial contributions to be made to Care Partners Hospice, 68 Sweeten Creek Rd., Asheville, NC 28803; St. Giles Church, 1617 Hendersonville Rd., Asheville, NC 28803; or Banner Elk Presbyterian Church, P.O. Box 158, Banner Elk, NC 28604.