Darline V. [Lafferty] Searles Sherman 1924-2011

CALKINS, LAFFERTY, SEARLES, SHERMAN, STARKS, HOUSE, MYERS, TOW

Posted By: Curtis (email)
Date: 1/11/2012 at 10:23:22

DEATH NOTICE:

(The Leon Journal-Reporter Leon, Iowa November 23, 2011)

SHERMAN, Darline V., 87, of Lamoni, Iowa, died on Friday, November 18, 2011. Funeral services were held at 11:00 a.m. on Tuesday, November 22, 2011 at the Lamoni Community of Christ with Evangelist Lester Stevenson and Joyce Stevenson officiating. Darline arranged for her body to be used for medical research at the university of Iowa and burial will be at a later date in Rose Hill Cemetery, Lamoni. Arrangements wee through Slade-O'Donnell Funeral Home and Lamoni, Iowa.

Obituary -

(The Leon Journal-Reporter Leon, Iowa November 23, 2011)

DARLINE V. SHERMAN ... Darline Sherman, daughter of Archie Leroy and Sarah Vida [Calkins] Lafferty, died on the morning of November 18, 2011, passing calmly and quickly from this life. She resided at the Lamoni Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Lamoni. She lived 87 years from her birth on July 12, 1924, in Chetek Wisconsin, patiently accepting the immobility and isolation of her later years.

Darline learned to meet hard times with practical wisdom and fortitude. Her outlook carried her through the deaths of two husbands, Bill Searles (in 1964) and Glenn Sherman (in 1990), a son, Jeff Searles (1970), and her siblings, Dorrell Lafferty and Romaine Lafferty Cool (2011). Trained as a secretary in the 1940s, she worked at Graceland University for over twenty years. through difficult losses, including Jeff's in Vietnam, she remained the steady one, the foundation for others.

In later years, Darline served as director of Crown Colony Housing in Lamoni, where she later enjoyed residing. In the 1990's, Darline worked with Slade-O'Donnell Funeral Home, serving the families of her community at the funeral home in Lamoni. with her quiet and helpful presence, genuine smile and concern, and her faith, Darline took gentle care of the people she served.

Darline was a life-long and active member of the R.L.D.S. Church, now the Community of Christ. She enjoyed music and served the church alongside both husbands. Darline liked visiting with people and was a good listener. She especially enjoyed being with, and talking about, her family and grandchildren.

Left to remember her legacy are her daughter, Becky Starks (Lamoni), son, Lee Searles (Des Moines), and step-children Barb (Verne) House (Tripoli), Darwin (Pat) Sherman (Washington, Iowa), and Jim (Jill) Sherman (Germantown, Illinois). Darline cared deeply for her grandchildren, Steve (Sarah) Myers (Mystic, Connecticut), Karen (David) Tow (Sedalia, Missouri), Sali Searles (James Lewis; Des Moines), and Cathy Searles (Mitchellville). She also leaves two great grandchildren and numerous nieces and nephews and their families.

Darline expressed admiration for those who relied on their inner compass in private and public matters, and while she was rarely vocal about it, she recognized those who hid their private dalliances behind public facades of respectability. She preferred a simple life of family and friends, working hard to provide support for them every waking moment. Her courage in crisis and her steadiness in everyday labors leave her family with an unfillable void.