Sherri Hynes

1954 - 2025

Sherri Kay Hynes passed away on August 14, 2025, surrounded by her family in Iowa City after a short battle with pancreatic cancer.

Sherri was born in Bloomington, Illinois on January 30, 1954, the second child of Milton E. Bertsche and Alice Marjorie "Marge" Frederickson Bertsche. She grew up on a farm outside of Flanagan, Illinois, where she graduated from Flanagan High School as Valedictorian of the Class of 1972 and earned her bachelor's degree from Illinois State University.

During high school she worked before school at the Mennonite Nursing Home, and while in college at a nursing home in Bloomington, Illinois. Sherri had a unique ability to work with elderly people, especially those who were suffering, and she was loved by all.

Sherri married Mark Hynes on May 24, 1974, in an extraordinary ceremony at her Mennonite Church in the tiny town of Meadows. The wedding was jointly officiated by her Mennonite Pastor and Mark's Catholic Priest from El Paso, Illinois, causing quite the controversy, yet attendance overflowed the church into the churchyard and parking lot.

Sherri paused her studies at ISU and moved to Mishawaka, Indiana for Mark's senior year at the University of Notre Dame where she provided necessary financial support as a Receptionist / Admin Assistant with Thorton Electric in Niles, Michigan.

After Mark's graduation and employment with Caterpillar Tractor Co. in East Peoria, Illinois, they returned to Bloomington where Sherri worked as a Medical Tech at a local hospital and resumed her studies at ISU. They soon built a house and moved to Germantown Hills, Illinois, while Sherri continued her education, often taking her new daughter to class with her.

After graduation, Sherri devoted her time to raising her family and providing support and counsel to her husband. She truly loved being a mother and eventually a grandmother. Sherri became an assistant coach for the Metamora St. Mary's Track team when her husband stepped down due to his career, helping her daughter, Erin, then a junior in high school, who had replaced Mark as head coach. The team produced multiple state champions and brought home several state trophies with Sherri's help.

Soon after, Sherri moved to Grenoble, France to support Mark and his career with Caterpillar. There, Sherri organized and mentored 25+ families that transferred to Grenoble from the US for the new organization. Living in France brought many challenges to all the American families, which Sherri handled like an expert, including mastering the language well enough to ask for the mountain of ice required for her Diet Coke. In fact, many of the restauranteurs knew her well enough to always present her with a bucket of ice even before she was seated. In addition to supporting the new families in Grenoble, she found ways to support her family as well, even being in the stands watching her son play more than half of his Metamora HS football games on their way to the Illinois State Championship game.

She moved to Geneva, Illinois, when Mark's career took them to the Caterpillar Aurora, Illinois facility. Eventually they moved to downtown Chicago along Michigan Avenue and Oak Street. By then she had come to love living in the city and travelling throughout the US, the South Pacific, and the Caribbean, especially Grand Cayman, which became quite special to her and her family. Her travels became such that she and Mark moved in with their son and his family to have a permanent address while they travelled, but it really allowed her to spend a great deal of time with her kids and grandchildren, who have become her beloved legacy.

Sherri's children and grandchildren were raised in a household that placed a high value on education, and they were always surrounded by books. When her oldest grandchild, Kerrigan, developed separation anxiety as a toddler, Sherri created a method from the children's book The Kissing Hand, where she would kiss her granddaughter's hand and tell her to hold it close to heart to use as a reminder that she is always with her. It never failed to calm Kerrigan, and she continued that tradition for 18 years until her final departure.

Besides her parents, she was preceded in death by her older brother, Roger "Bruce" Bertsche.

Surviving are her children, Erin E. Hynes, Perrysburg, Ohio; Michael P. (Jackie) Hynes, Coralville, Iowa, and granddaughters Kerrigan E. Lockhart and Maura K. Lockhart of Perrysburg, Ohio, and grandsons Liam M. Hynes and Ryan M. Hynes of Coralville, Iowa. Also surviving are siblings Kevin (Cindy) Bertsche, Flanagan, Illinois; Rodney (Lori) Bertsche, Ocala, Florida, and Mark (Kim) Bertsche, El Paso, Illinois and many nieces, nephews, and cousins.

A Celebration of Life for close family and friends will be held in Chicago at a later date to accommodate travel and schedules.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the College Fund for her grandchildren. If so, please make checks out to Sherri K. Hynes and write, "Grandchildren's College Fund" in the memo line. Mail directly to Merrill Lynch, 230 SW Adams St. Suite 400, Peoria, Illinois 61602.