Kathleen Mary Sherban

Kathleen Mary Sherban, 100, of Lynchburg, passed away on Monday, January 10, 2022. She was born in London, England on April 5, 1921, to the late Ernest Frederick and Winnifred K. Stephenson.  Kathleen lived her first few years in England, then at about the age of three or four, she migrated to Canada with her family. Eventually the family settled in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada where Kathleen (Kath) and her younger sister, Dorothy (Dossy) grew up.

After completing primary school and high school, Kath went into training and became an RN at Vancouver General Hospital.  During RN training Kathleen’s nickname changed from Kath to Kay. Kay met Dr. Anthony Joseph Sherban, who was an intern at Vancouver General Hospital.  They subsequently married on February 16, 1946.  Their first son, Paul was born July 13, 1948.

At this time Anthony (Tony) sought a change in specialty training and travelled to New York City, NY, USA to study Radiology at the Cornell Medical Center. Kay stayed in Hafford, Saskachewan, Canada with her mother-in-law and father-in-law (Frances and Joseph Sherban) for a year before joining Tony in New York City. With her mother-in-law, Frances as a convenient babysitter, Kay was able to continue her nursing career in the Hafford hospital. She was even called upon to successfully administer an ether anesthetic for a patient having an appendectomy.

In 1949, Kay rejoined Tony in Whiteplains, NY. In 1950, their second son, Kenneth was born. Even back in 1950, with two small children at home, Tony found the commute into the city to be too time consuming, and the family moved upstate and finally settled in New Hartford, New York, where Raymond, their third son, was born in 1951. As Tony worked hard building his practice in Radiology, Kay was busy with her three boys. She dedicated her life to raising her sons, teaching Sunday School, going to PTA meetings and volunteering as a Den Mother for a local Cub Scout troop.  Kay was a true force of nature, encouraging her boys to work hard.  She was proud of her three Eagle Scouts and eventually three doctors.

After Tony retired from the practice of Radiology, he and Kay spent summers on their horse farm in upstate NY. Tony remained busy with the horses and his vegetable garden, and Kay attended to the home, to Tony and her flower garden. For a few years, they would spend summers on the farm and winters in Florida. They also enjoyed traveling more, visiting relatives and their sons in, PA, VA, AZ and CA.

In 1987, Kay and Tony moved to Lynchburg, VA. They took an active interest in their grandchildren in Lynchburg.  Kay was a happy babysitter and helped to raise her grandchildren in Lynchburg, VA, Tucson, AZ and Lancaster, PA.  Kay enjoyed actively participating in events and activities at the Trinity Episcopal Church. She remained active in the church after Tony passed away in 2002 and she moved to Westminster Canterbury in the spring of 2003.

As long as she was physically able, she attended Church, and volunteered for activities at Westminster Canterbury. One of her favorite past times was knitting beanies for the newborns at the VA Baptist Hospital. As her health began to deteriorate, she could participate in few activities. The isolation brought on by Covid-19 was very hard on her with all the visitation restrictions. Her family could not even visit her on her 100th birthday due to one of the restricted times, but the wonderful staff at the Drinkard ward at Westminster were fond of Kathleen (as she was now called once again) and they gave her a joyful birthday celebration. She did receive family visits subsequently several times as restrictions were eventually eased.

After a thankfully brief illness, she passed away in her sleep on January 10, 2022.

She is survived by her children, Dr. Paul Sherban (Sharon Sherban) of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, Dr. Kenneth Sherban (Dr. Martha Donegan) of Lynchburg, Virginia, and Dr. Raymond Sherban (Cathe Sherban) of Flagstaff, Arizona; grandchildren, Diana Sherban, Alexander Sherban, Paul Sherban, Dr. Tyler Sherban (Sarah Sherban) of Valdez, Alaska, and Stephanie Hudzinski (Caleb Hudzinski) of Flagstaff, AZ; and great-grandchildren Hazen and Alder Sherban of Valdez, Alaska

In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by her loving husband of 56 years, Anthony Joseph Sherban; sister, Dorothy Cowan; and brother-in-law Ian Cowan.

Due to pandemic precautions, the family will be having a private graveside service.

Tharp Funeral Home & Crematory, Lynchburg, is assisting the family.