OBITUARY Sheri L. Bohigian November 11, 1946 – December 20, 2018 What a Wonderful Life! The world has lost a kind, optimistic, generous and loving human being. Our family has lost far more.
Sheri, mother of Stephen Muir Bohigian and wife of Tom Bohigian, lost her struggle with ALS, which took her from us far too early. Throughout the illness, in hospitals, and then at our home, she was lifted daily by family, and so many truly wonderful and generous friends. They visited, wrote letters and texted, bringing messages of their undying love for this beautiful woman.
Sheri never lost her positive attitude and wasn’t afraid of dying, showing a level of resolve that was both heartwarming and inspiring. Sheri was born in Fresno, but lived all over the world, traveling with her parents as an “Air Force brat”. An only child, her mother Nikki, instilled happiness and a sense of humor and style.
Sheri missed her until she passed. Her late father, USAF Col. Kent G. Bowlan, helped her believe in what she could accomplish in life, and instilled a sense of unshakeable honesty.
They traveled to Kwajalein Island, in the South Pacific, Prestwick, Scotland, Scott Air Force Base in Mascoutah, Illinois, Alaska, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Seattle and then Fresno. Receiving her BA in Journalism from the University of Missouri, where she met her Chi Omega sisters, whom she traveled the country to meet-up with every three years, Sheri had a keen eye for editing and a knack for concise writing. She had no greater love than her son Stephen, who in his final year of his PhD in History at UNLV, dropped everything to come home to help take care of his mom.
Sheri was looked after with care and love until her last breath. It couldn’t have been done without him. Sheri loved travel and camping.
Mineral King, Kings Canyon, Yosemite, Lake Tahoe, Death Valley, the Eastern Sierra, and all the Sierra Nevada “Range of Light,” and the California coast. As time went on, she and Tom and friends visited many parts of Italy, Paris, and the south of France, and then the Balkans—Slovenia, Serbia, Croatia—where she swam in the deep blue Adriatic. Just over a year ago, her and Tom visited Ireland and Scotland—where she developed an appreciation for whiskey.
Her last trip in May was to see her truly beloved Mascoutah High School friends at a reunion in New Orleans. Friends forever. Sheri was an environmentalist.
She cared about the world around her. For many years she served on the Board of Directors and volunteered for the San Joaquin River Parkway Trust. She did this because she loved the river, and the wildlife that depend on it, but also to see future generations enjoy the river as well.
She retired after nine years working for the San Joaquin Valley Air District, because she believed that we needed to clean up the air. As an asthmatic, she had a special understanding of this. Sheri’s husband, Tom, says he “fell up” when she married him.
Simply, she made him better, and encouraged him many times when he faced challenges. Tom loved to cook for her from their lush garden and orchard. They would enjoy wine and meals in the backyard pavilion and at the table in the front yard, soaking in the beauty of neighbor Betty’s giant Cork Oaks, the fall colors of the Pistache trees, and the flowers that colored the property.
Sheri and Tom always recognized how fortunate they were to experience this while living in their Fig Garden adobe—which hosted countless dinners and events—none more cherished than those with the Pizza Night friends, people with an unwavering love for Sheri. Her love for reading brought together her Book Club friends every month, sometimes in Sheri’s home, and those friendships sustained her during her battle with the disease. Special thanks to UCSF, Fresno Dr. Mark Stecker, Sheri’s neurologist, a truly gifted and kind man.
Sheri spent nearly a month at Community Regional Medical Center and the Leon S. Peters Rehabilitation Center. All of the staff were superb, and Sheri appreciated their care, as well as their counterparts at UCSF Mt. Parnassus Hospital in San Francisco, where she spent a week, and was diagnosed with ALS in late July.
Finally, the staff at Nancy Hinds Hospice, who supported Sheri’s care at home, and helped immeasurably in easing her passing. Home Health Aide Zoua Quitoriano is an angel. She treated Sheri with extraordinary kindness and dignity.
A celebration of life and reception with be held Saturday, January 26 at 10:00 a.m. at the San Joaquin River Parkway Center “Barn” at the address below.
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