Cherri Gentry

My name is Lisa Chambers and my brother Shawn Gentry and I want to tell you about our mother, Cherrie Gentry. She is a wonderful mom and friend with a loving and caring spirit. We love her more than words could ever express. She passed away on Tuesday May 31, 2016 here in Albuquerque NM. Shawn and I want to share with you a little bit of here her story and who she was to her friends and to us. There are not enough pages in the paper to tell you everything but we will do our best to share a little.

My mom was born Cherrie Jeanne Hill on June 3, 1949 in Beaver Oklahoma to my grandparents Foster and Jean Hill. When my mom was still little they moved from Higgins TX west to the "beef capital of the world", Hereford TX. Hereford is a small town in the panhandle of Texas where the cattle outnumber the residents and where beef is the king of the economy. My mom lived on the farm which included helping with the daily chores. My grandparents raised cattle and bred quarter horses and my mom's love for animals grew from her time here. She graduated from Hereford High in 1967.

Our mom moved between Hereford and Amarillo a few times. After High School she worked and took care of the household but decided in the 1980's to go to college. She attended Texas State Technical Institute in Amarillo and got her associate's degree in drafting in 1987. Something she was always very proud of. During the course of this time her husband Kenneth Dearman, my father and the namesake of my son Kenny, passed away when I was 4 years old. She married Bob Gentry, my brother Shawn's father, who adopted me when I was 5.

In October 1990 we moved to Albuquerque NM. My mom's sister, Trisha Dworsky, was already here and she urged us to come out this way. She was close to all three of her siblings but there was something different between her Trisha. A special bond in sisterhood, both honest and pure, that exists between sisters. We loved Albuquerque and decided to make New Mexico our permanent home.
My mother was a very talented artist. Her creativity had no boundaries and she could create works of art even with rocks! I remember her collecting rocks of different colors and shapes and keeping them in boxes or in piles around the house. People saw only geological aggregates but she saw the beauty in their creative potential. She could unlock revealing luster as artistic garden paths amongst her gardens. Her flower gardens were always awesome! You could find her out very late, in the middle of the night, working the soil and maintaining her plants. She was most definitely a night owl. Creativity flowed from her in all forms. She used graphite form in drawing portraits of people and horses in pencil; she won an award at the Texas state fair for an Indian portrait with a stunning headdress. Her downtime between art projects was creating beaded jewelry and she loved riding horses or going fishing on her parents' cattle ranch. She loved gathering driftwood and turning this discarded material into amazing flower arrangements.

She loved going to the horse races. During race season she would take her parents to Ruidoso NM to watch the ponies run; the excitement of the race, the cool mountain pines, and mid-summer showers. It was an idyllic moment with the family.

Our mom LOVED the holidays, especially Christmas, and her other favorite times were highlighting our birthdays. Without fail she always made us angel food cake. At Christmas time she made a huge production of the Santa Claus gifts. Even the way she would arrange our gifts were done with an artful eye. She loved buying her grandkids little dollar store toys and the noisier the better! She had a huge laugh and had a very kind and generous heart. She loved God and loved to write her favorite bible verses on pretty paper with colorful pens. She was the best mother and grandmother, sister and daughter, that anyone could ever ask for. She's with the Lord now, and I'm grateful for that, but we will miss her so deeply and profoundly. We love you mom.

She is survived by two children Lisa Chambers and Deon with oldest grandchild Kenny of Albuquerque NM, Shawn Gentry and Crystal with grandchildren Taryn and Aiden of Rio Rancho NM; brother Bill Hill and Maureen with children Foster Hill and Heidi Halloran of Lubbock TX, brother Terry Hill and Jeanette with children Tony Hill, Stephen Hill and Tracy Smith of Lubbock TX, sister Trisha Dworsky and David with children Jaclyn Henjum and Jason Lemons of Rio Rancho NM. She was preceded in death by her parents Foster and Jean Hill.

A memorial service will be held at Del Norte Baptist Church in Albuquerque, NM on Thursday, June 9, 2016 at 10am with Kevin Warner officiating.

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