Sharron Kay Oakes
1946 – 2024
Sharron (Sherry) Kay Oakes, 78, passed away peacefully on October 1, 2024, in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Sherry was the daughter of Homer Bryant Williams and Lois Leona Williams. She was born in Neosho, Missouri, and raised in Tulsa, Oklahoma. She graduated from Edison High School in Tulsa in 1964 before attending Oklahoma State University and completing a Master’s in Dietetics. She spent most of her adult life and raised her family in Edmond, Oklahoma.
Sherry spent many years inspecting nursing home facilities and conducting educational classes about nutrition. She traveled to many places across the state while singing along to favorites like Neil Diamond, The Eagles, and Bob Seger. She always knew how to turn a routine drive into a concert on wheels.
Sherry’s true joy was her family and life’s simple pleasures—like her favorite Friday garage sales. She never passed up a good bargain or an opportunity to turn it into a treasure for her home or a gift for someone she loved.
Known for her love of crafts, Sherry had a particular fondness for Dr. Pepper memorabilia and marine life like dolphins and whales. But her greatest passion was Christmas. She believed the world would be a better place if the holiday lasted all year, and her year-round Christmas tree was adorned with handmade sequin ornaments she crafted with love. She was the kind of person who could turn a simple gift into something that sparkled—just like her spirit.
Sherry also had a heart for giving back. Whether volunteering with local schools, animal shelters, recycling programs, or community organizations like Keep Edmond Beautiful, she was always ready to lend a hand where it was needed.
Sherry is survived by her beloved husband of forty-six years, David Oakes; her three sons: David Michael Oakes and his wife Paige Stumpff; Thomas Brian Oakes, his wife Cher and their children Sergio and Sierra; Steven Randall Oakes, his wife Crystal and their son Grayson; her brother Randy Williams, his daughter Tara O’Connell and her husband Jonathan and their children. She is also survived by her brother-in-law, Tommy Oakes, and his daughters, Teresa Adams and her partner Pam Nelson and Karen Fair, along with many beloved nieces, nephews, great-nieces, great-nephews, and grand-dogs.
Sherry was preceded by her parents, Homer Bryant Williams and Lois Leona Williams, her sister-in-law Christy Williams, her mother-in-law Louise “Weese” Oakes Waldrum and husband Elmer “Pap” Waldrum, her father-in-law Hardy Oakes and his wife, Ethel, her sisters-in-law Colleen Oakes and Dana Wylde Oaks, and her best friend, Betty Briggs — who no doubt saved her a spot at the great garage sale in the sky.
Family visitation will be held on Friday, October 4, 2024, from 6:30 – 8:00 p.m. at Matthews Funeral Home, 601 S Kelly Ave, Edmond, OK 73003.
It will be followed by a graveside service at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, October 5, 2024, at Waterloo Cemetery, 6801 Kelly Avenue, Edmond, Oklahoma 73025.
In lieu of flowers, Sherry requested that donations be made to Free to Live Animal Sanctuary at P.O. Box 5884, Edmond, Oklahoma 73083, or online at freetoliveok.org to honor her love for animals.
Sherry’s light and laughter will be missed, but the memories she leaves behind will sparkle just as brightly as the ornaments on her Christmas tree.