Sherry Lynn Oliver

Louisville - Sherry Lynn Oliver, a daughter of West Virginia marked by her warm heart, her mischievous spirit and her decades of service to her patients, her nation and her community, died on August 13, 2025 at her home in Louisville, Ky.

Sherry was surrounded by her husband, Charles Oliver, her children Jesse and Collin, and two close friends. Her death followed a long struggle with complications of pancreatic cancer.

A small-town girl who later sought to explore the broader world, Sherry was born on July 17 1957 in Gassaway, W.Va., the daughter of JoAnn (Harlow) and Harry Gray Carper.

For almost her entire childhood, her family lived in Summersville, W. Va., in an apartment above the Carper Auto Parts store there.

Sherry attended Nicholas County High School, graduating in 1975. She enrolled at Alderson Broaddus College in Philippi, West Virginia to study nursing.

A brief marriage led to the birth of her daughter, Jesse.

Sherry enrolled in the U.S. Army - taking a leap of faith to forge a new life for her and for her young daughter, starting in Hawaii, where she worked as a nurse at Tripler Army Medical Center in Honolulu.

She rose to be a captain.

In Hawaii, Sherry fell in love with a private from Puerto Rico on her ward. Chuck and Sherry were married on May 31, 1987 and welcomed their son Collin Gray that October.

"She became my best friend and confidante for all the decades that followed," Chuck recalls. "It was a partnership that lasted over 40 years."

Sherry was assigned to the U.S. Army 42nd Field Hospital in Fort Knox. She later settled with her family in 1993 in Louisville, where she would live for the rest of her life.

Sherry subsequently worked as an ER nurse supervisor and at the heart catheter lab at Jewish Hospital in Louisville. After retirement, Sherry plunged into life with her grandchildren, training other nurses, and providing care for senior citizens. Among her great joys was teaching water aerobics at the nearby YMCA.

Sherry is survived by her husband, Charles Oliver; her brother Gray Carper (Carolyn); her daughter Jesse Folkenflik (David), her son Collin Oliver (Heather), her step-son Carlos Oliver; her grandchildren Jackson, Viola, Emma, Elliot, Zella and Eliza.

In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations to the YMCA of Norton Commons or Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center to help pancreatic cancer research.