Sheryl Lynne Pol

It is with heartfelt reverence and a sprinkle of humor that we remember the life of Sheryl Pol, aka Nana, who passed away peacefully in her home on February 21, 2025 at the age of 77 in Granger, Indiana. She loved the Lord and is rejoicing in Heaven embraced by a grumble of pugs. His mighty "prayer warrior" has come home to rest after a long hard-fought battle against Myasthenia Gravis, a heart that wanted to march to the beat of its own drum, aka A-Fib, and that silly little thing called old age.
Born on January 31, 1948, in Muncie, Indiana to John and Esther Stebbins, she quickly fell into place as the middle child answering to "Pe-Sheryl" due to her sister Peggy having "top billing" for 10 years already. Having battled Polio as a child, the world made her a fighter from the start. Polio set Sheryl off on her journey of life with a crooked ankle and a crooked sense of humor.
Sheryl is survived by a loving lineage including her daughters, Michelle (Brad Stafford) Wetlaufer, Stephanie (Bela) Bruckner, Jennifer (Michael) Bailey and Karen (Sam) Palmer; her siblings John (Carol) Stebbins, Sh-Peggy Brantley and Monte (Ann) Stebbins; her treasured grandchildren Dawson, Jillian, Emery, Ella, Maddy and AJ; and her beloved pug Beau. She added many branches to her family tree, including her dearest friends Darlene Bruckner, Cindy McNabb, Jan Palmitessa and Elizabeth Sircher.
Sheryl embraced her creative side with embroidery, sewing and crafts; these activities she joyously shared with her grandchildren, daughters, friends and even enemies, if they asked nicely. No visit was complete at Nana's house without a stab from a rouge needle or pin. Even though some crafts turned out quite questionable (sorry Lucille and the shell people) more often than not, they were lovely and were displayed proudly on every wall and shelf in her home. When not crafting, Sheryl could be found baking with her loved ones and rolling through spilled flour. You only have to mention "concoction night" to her grandkids to pull up sweet (if not always sweet-tasting) memories. Shery loved playing any type of game, especially Hay Day, where you could always count on her to sell you loads of duct tape, cream and butter! Her ultimate joy came from playing Dominoes, Qwirkle, Skip-Bo, Uno and Aggravation with family and friends regardless of the score. Except with Ella, she really wanted to knock that girl down a few pegs. Unfortunately for Nana, Ella not only lucked out in the grandmother department, but also with games. Having left their running tally of Qwirkle at 229-297 and Ella victorious. Just as easily as Nana made friends, she also made excuses often remarking "of course the score keeper always wins".
Nana was an enthusiastic supporter of her grandchildren. She could be found cheering at football games and wrestling matches, keeping stats at volleyball tournaments, emailing back and forth, supporting all runners at cross country meets, happily enduring hours of track and field events while wrapped up in blankets, texting recipes, watching dance videos online and taking walks/rides with her grandson around her apartment building.
Sheryl had a love of meatloaf, steak, ribs and chili which her family and her ostomy bag, Oliver, could not keep up with! She would give you her heart, but never her leftovers.
A celebration of life will be held at the Elk's Lodge, 1322 Canal Street, Niles, MI 49120 on Saturday, March 22, 2025 from 2-4pm. Please come with your stories and we'll be prepared to honor Nana by raising our hands to indicate follow-up questions. In lieu of flowers, please flirt with a stranger much younger than yourself!
Arrangements have been entrusted to Brown Funeral Home & Cremation Services to help Nana achieve her lifelong dream of having a "smokin' hot body."
Sheryl posthumously apologizes to Joann's Fabric for her recent lack of shopping which likely led to their nationwide closure.