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Tuesday, July 27, 2021

Farewell SM

Growing up, one of my best friends was Tom McElmeel. I met him when I was probably 4 or 5, when we lived on Red Bud Road in Cedar Rapids. By the time we moved off of Red Bud Road in 1980, Tom and his family had already been living in a house on North Center Point Road, where his mom, Sharron, and Jack, her husband, lived ... until yesterday. I wrote the following on Steve's Facebook page, after I read the news.
I am so sorry for your loss. I am thankful for knowing her - she made me a better person. I am remembering when she would drive Tom and I to Noelridge pool during the summer in the van that we didn't use the sliding door & I remember that because I forgot at least twice and opened it. I mention that because she was never cross with me when she had every right to be. It is just one example of how kind she was. Later, I took Adolescent Literature at Mount Mercy. She held me to her high standard - I think I squeaked out a B in that class - she demanded, with a smile, that I met her high standards. I have so many thoughts in my mind. I believe that the last time I saw her in-person was at my mom's wake, which meant so much to me. My deepest sympathy for everyone in your family.

Tom's family was a big part of my development into who I am today and his family was always led by Sharron. Tom had a big family:

Debbie is the oldest - Sharron always called her "Deborah" 

Mike was next - Sharron always called him "Michael"

Tom was next - Sharron always called him "Thomas"

The twins came next - Matt and Steve - Sharron always called "Matt" Matthew and "Steve" Steven. 

Susie was next - Sharron always called her "Suzanne"

Jack, her husband, was always nice to me. 

To provide a bit of context, it was Tom's older brother, Mike, who had an awesome record collection. I used to ride my moped out to their house. I probably have wrote about how, when Mike left for the Army, he gave me his 8-track collection, which introduced me to so many great bands and albums: The Eagles' The Long Run, ZZ Top's Deguello, Van Halen's I and II, The Police's Zenyatta Mondatta. 

Editor's Note: This is the obituary for Sharron: https://www.thegazette.com/obituaries/sharron-mcelmeel/

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