Margaret Sherryl Judge Tatro

Margaret Sheryl Judge Tatro, known to most as Sherry, passed away December 3, 2022 following a brief illness in Lewiston, Maine where she received excellent nursing and medical care at Central Maine Medical Center. She was born May 7, 1948 in Oklahoma City, OK, daughter of Homer and Ann (Ammerman) Judge. Sherry spent her childhood in a number of different countries while her father worked for the Near East Foundation and USAID teaching agriculture and establishing agriculture education programs. The family lived in three different towns in Iran - Resht, Isfahan, and Shiraz - between 1954 and 1958, followed by Erzurum, Turkey, and time in Ann Arbor, Michigan and Amherst, Massachusetts. Sherry graduated from the American International School in New Delhi, India in 1966. She attended the University of Massachusetts at Amherst where she met her husband Jim, graduating in 1970 with a Bachelor’s of Arts in Education. Sherry and Jim were married August 15, 1970 in Oklahoma City, OK. Sherry taught first grade at the Westhampton Center School in Westhampton, Massachusetts from 1970-1978. In 1978, Sherry, Jim and their eldest daughter Amanda moved to Philadelphia and in 1980, their family was completed with the birth of their second daughter, Bethany. She took a break to raise her young family but returned to teaching elementary school with the Philadelphia Public School District in 1985, teaching at a few schools including Henry H. Houston School. Sherry received her Masters in Library Science from Drexel University in 1999 and took positions as a school librarian in middle schools and high schools including Middle Years Alternative School (MYA), Simon Gratz, Strawberry Mansion and Germantown High Schools, retiring in 2013. A 45 year resident of West Central Germantown, Sherry made many friends in the neighborhood and was an active participant in many neighborhood activities from annual potluck picnics to storytelling programs at the Ebenezer Maxwell Mansion to neighborhood book clubs. She believed in the importance of taking an active role in your community and was proud to have served as a poll worker in the most recent elections. It was important to her to teach her daughters and grandchildren to stand up for their rights, fight oppression and become strong feminists. Sherry loved to travel, see new places and learn about the people and culture of the places she visited. Sherry and Jim traveled to all 48 of the contiguous states, camping and visiting national and state parks in most of them. They enjoyed visiting festivals such as the National Storytelling Festival, the Appalachian Homecoming in Tennessee, the Gallup Intertribal Ceremonial in New Mexico, and the Crow Fair in Montana. Sherry also enjoyed traveling to visit family in Oklahoma and to see her daughters in Maine and Switzerland. Sherry was a crafter, knitter and gardener. Over the years, she’d put her hands to a variety of crafts from batik and basket making to silk dying and jewelry making . Most significantly, she was a knitter and an active member of three different knitting circles and the Philadelphia Guild of Handweavers and Fiber Artists. She was an avid gardener and member of the Delaware Valley Hosta Society. Sherry is survived and sorely missed by her husband of 52 years, James Edward Tatro, daughters Amanda Ruth Tatro and Bethany Gwen Tatro, son-in-law Dale Michael Rodel, grandchildren Adeline Mae Rodel Tatro and Peter James Rodel Tatro and many long-time friends. Sherry loved flowers and gardens so a celebration of her life will be held in the spring in a garden. She was also an avid reader and loved helping children learn to read and to love books. In lieu of flowers, a fund will be set up to donate books and ensure they reach the children who will most benefit. To learn more as arrangements are finalized, please send an email to TatroFamily19144@gmail.com

Margaret Sherryl Judge Tatro

May 7, 1948 - December 3, 2022