Sherry Olson, 72, of Holt Road, Marshfield, passed away on Wednesday, September 7, 2016 at her home in Marshfield. Born Cheryl Starr Olson on July 14, 1944, in Fargo, North Dakota, she was the first of three children born to Howard Olson and Helen Anderson Olson. Her parents' marriage did not last, and in 1956 Howard married Polly Thompson, who brought her two children into the family. It was a cohesive group of siblings and nurturing parents. Howard passed on to Sherry a compassion for and interest in people, as well as a great love of reading and writing. From Polly, Sherry learned to appreciate good food and a love of cooking. Her happy childhood was spent in North Carolina, Kentucky, and Virginia. She graduated from high school in Elizabethtown, Kentucky, and graduated from Earlham College in 1966. At that time, she began a lifelong career of reading and writing poetry. Sherry moved to Vermont in 1973 and taught at the H.O. Wheeler elementary school in Burlington. In 1974, she met her future husband Dave Boyer, then a neighbor in Queen City Park in South Burlington. In 1976, she and Dave moved to Maple Hill in Marshfield, married, built a house, and planted gardens. Their son and only child, Dash Boyer-Olson, was born in 1977. From that time on Dave and Sherry lived in their home on Maple Hill, where many good friends come and go. Sherry worked for several years as an administrative aid in the Master of Fine Arts Program at Goddard College. Following that, she enjoyed working at Adult Basic Education for over 20 years as a literacy tutor and coordinator. She felt strongly about spreading the skill and enjoyment of reading to adults who had never experienced satisfying opportunities to read. Following her retirement from ABE, Sherry participated in many reading and poetry workshops. She was especially proud of her work for several years as a poetry workshop leader at the women's prison then located in Waterbury. In recent years, Sherry taught a popular poetry writing class at the Montpelier Senior Activity Center, and had a devoted following of students. Sherry wrote two books of poetry and two children's books. Sherry embraced life wholeheartedly, discovering beauty in the small things, and interacting with people wherever she happened to be. She loved her many close friends and her family. She loved all the dogs in her life, including Annie and Rafa, who survive her. She loved to travel with her husband, Dave, their favorite destinations being New York City, Paris, and the Greek islands. She loved her son Dash and his wife, Erica, and she treasured every minute she was able to spend as grandma 'Yaya' with her grandsons Luke and Jack. Survivors include her husband Dave Boyer, their son Dash Boyer-Olson and his wife Erica Fabrikant and their two sons Luke and Jack, her sister Penny Chase and her husband Addison, her sister Ginny Richardson and her husband Randy, her brother Karl Olson and his wife Heather Hagen, her brother Dave Olson and his wife Joan, and numerous nephews and nieces and their children. A memorial service for family and close friends is planned for a later date. Memorial donations may be made to the Montpelier Senior Activity Center, 58 Barre Street, Montpelier, VT 05602 On-line condolences may be sent to www.guareandsons.com