Dillon Louis Sherritze,83, passed away on October 2, 2018. He was a cherished husband, father, son, friend. He had a long marriage of 60 years to his wife, Mary Alice Lovin Sherritze.
Preceded in death by his daughter, Mary Louisa Sherritze; by his mother Lois Shanks Sherritze and by his father, Dillon George Sherritze. Louis has two surviving daughters, Sonja Margaret Sherritze of Philadelphia and Sylvia Yvonne Sherritze of Woodbury; two grandchildren Amanda and Matthew Rania of West Deptford, New Jersey. Louis began his work life at a very early age, often recalling that he began selling newspapers on street corners in Greeneville, Tennessee at about age 5.
At the same time he was selling these newspapers, Louis also loved to pick up empty bottles for the two cent return deposit value which he sold to Shanks grocery in Greeneville, a small mom and pop store, owned by Louis’s grandfather. At about age ten, in Knoxville, Tennessee, he became a paper boy, delivering newspapers on customer routes for the Knoxville News Sentinel. While delivering on his routes, he collected numerous awards for his sales prowess.
As soon as he was eligible, he enlisted in the US Naval Reserve and remained in this branch of service until he was drafted in the Army in 1958. During his late teens, he worked as an automobile seat cover installer for Sears. He was recruited away from Sears by the seat cover manufacturer–Ero Manufacturing Company in Chicago, Illinois.
His territory included Bangor, Maine; all the way south to Miami, Florida; and from there, west to Denver. Once drafted, the Army sent Louis to Stuttgart, Germany, and for eighteen months, he served as a counter-intelligence analyst. His wife was allowed to join him, and they lived off-post on the Germany economy.
While in Germany, he and his wife were able to travel to many other European countries. On his discharge from the Army and on his return to the US, he completed his B.S degree in Business at the University of Tennessee. After graduation, he was hired as an investigator for the US Labor Department in Knoxville.
His next employment was with Travelers Insurance Company in Knoxville; and from there, he was sent to Chattanooga as an adjustor, and later he was promoted to the home office in Hartford as an insurance examiner. While working with Travelers in Hartford, Louis attended night classes at Western New England College of Law and after about four years, he earned a Law Degree. Subsequently he passed the bar in several states and was licensed in Massachusetts, Missouri and Pennsylvania.
After about eight years with Travelers, Louis was recruited to Aetna Insurance Company to work as a home office worker’s compensation examiner. He was subsequently transferred to St. Louis, Missouri to be a claims manager in the St. Louis Regional Office. Also, during this time, he also took night courses, completing his CPCU designation.
Following this, he graded national CPCU exam papers. During his work with Aetna in St Louis, he was recruited by INA to come to Philadelphia as a home office liability claims manager. After this, Louis worked for several years at United National Insurance Company in Bala Cynwyd as a home office examiner.
During his retirement, Louis enjoyed just being a man of leisure, after having worked so diligently for 60 years. During this time, he enjoyed reading –on many topics, such as history and science. He also loved watching action movies, such as the James Bond series and the Bourne Identity.
He enjoyed TV and loved being entertained by comedians such as Bill Maher, George Carlin and Rita Rudner. Louis, himself, was a great quipster and always quick with a ready repartee for any occasion. He also loved playing the lottery and was always hoping to win the big one.
Private cremation under the direction of DAVIS & WAGNER FUNERAL & CREMATION SERVICES 171 Delaware St. Woodbury, N.J. Memorial contributions in Louis’ memory may be made to the American Cancer Society at cancer.org or the Traumatic Brain Injury Re Center at tbirc.org.
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