Cleone Frances Sherman

Cleone Frances Sherman (nee Sandstrom)

May 28, 1935- October 10, 2026

Cleone Frances Sherman, age 91, peacefully passed onto the next life at Nelson Gables in Alexandria, MN on October 10, 2026. She often marveled at the charmed life she was living, and was eternally grateful. When she wrote a memoir book in her 80’s, the obvious title she gave it was “My Charmed Life”.

She was born at home in the rural northern Minnesota town of Blackberry in 1935 to John Peter Sandstrom and Lura Faye Verdelle Sandstrom (nee Staley). Her father was an immigrant from Sweden who crossed the ocean to Ellis Island at age 14 with his widowed mother and 4 older siblings. Her mother was born in Nebraska and met her father when her family moved to Blackberry and opened the local store. She was the youngest of three surviving children of the six born to her parents. Throughout her life she recounted fond memories of her life growing up in Blackberry, of her Swedish grandmother (Grandma Lind), her parents, sisters (Delores and Glenice), and credited her mother for instilling in her the faith that has kept her grounded through the ups and downs of life.

She graduated from Grand Rapids High School in 1952, and completed two years of college at the University of Minnesota-Duluth, working towards a major in Home Economics (although later regretted not following her real interest: accounting). She met her husband of 60 years, John Sherman, in her freshman year at UMD, and they were married after his graduation in 1954. Following their wedding in Grand Rapids in April 1955, they moved to Alamogordo, NM where John began his Air Force ROTC service at the White Sands Proving Grounds. She took a job on base assisting the photographers documenting the missile launches, and she loved how exciting they were to watch. They subsequently moved to Albuquerque, NM, where John completed his military service, after which they moved back to John’s hometown of Marshall, MN, where he resumed work in his family’s Coca-Cola business. She gave birth to their three children in the next five years, and set about raising them while being active in the community and their church, St. James Episcopal. When her children were middle school age, she began bookkeeping at the Coca-Cola plant. She was so thankful to have had this opportunity, which finally fulfilled her natural acuity for numbers and interest in accounting. After retirement, they split their time between homes in Alexandria, MN and Florida. In both places, they had great groups of friends that enriched their lives with rounds of golf, Bridge parties, dinner parties, travel, and sunset pontoon cruises. Weaved before and throughout these retirement years, six grandchildren were born. It was one of her great joys in life to host holidays where they were all together. In 2015, she lost both her eldest son and husband within six months. Through this she relied on her strong faith, and when the following year a lifelong friend, Lee Doering, reached out and eventually became a loving companion, she once again marveled at her charmed life. In the intervening years until his passing in May of 2025 they reminisced about old times and shared grief, created new memories, and celebrated the arrival of great-grandchildren into their lives.

Her family was paramount in her life, and when asked how she’d most liked to be remembered, she always replied: as a loving wife, mother and grandmother.

Cleone is preceded in death by her infant siblings, Violet, Ruth, and Warren; her parents and sisters; her husband John Sr., and son John Jr., and is survived by her daughter Mary Jo Carlson (Bruce), son Jim Sherman; six grandchildren: Andy Sherman, Sunny Sherman (Silvana Gross), Abby Sherman, Ayn Carlson (John Coles), Cole Carlson (Alli), Brian Sherman (Megan), 3 great grandchildren: Kai Sherman, Nora Sherman, Elliott Carlson; and her beloved Bella, the most beautiful and wonderful cat in the world (according to Cleone).

A heartfelt thank you to Lorraine Anderson, Chris Mattson, and Shari Dybdal for their years of loving care for Cleone and John Sr.

A funeral service will be held at 1:00pm Monday, October 19 at Anderson Funeral Home located at 659 Voyager Dr NW Alexandria, MN.