Relay For Life: Survivor and Sponsor Sherry Cress

Sherry Cress and the Cress Funeral & Cremation Service started sponsoring the Sun Prairie Relay For Life in the early 1990’s. Just like many other participants and sponsors they were touched by cancer personally and have family, friends and colleagues who have been diagnosed with cancer.

The Cress Family wants to do whatever they can to help find a cure for cancer. Sherry was diagnosed with cancer when she was only 30 years old and had three young boys ages 8, 6 and 2. She was only given days to weeks to live and this year, 22 years later, she was blessed to see her first grandchild born in March. She recalls that her whole family, friends and neighbors were there for her, but mainly both her mother and her husband were her rocks of support. Her husband was there every day and at every treatment and hospital stay. After every treatment her mother stayed at their house to take care of her and help get the children ready for school. They both told her how much their family needed her, loved her and that she couldn’t give up. She feels she wouldn’t have made it without the love and support of her family. To anyone newly diagnosed with cancer Sherry would tell them to never give up. Tomorrow is always a new day and we don’t know when a cure is going to come.

The Cress family will sponsor the butterfly release at this year’s Relay for Life as they have done for several years in the past. The butterflies symbolize rebirth and a new beginning. Sherry’s hope is that a cure for all cancers can be found so that nobody ever has to hear the dreaded “C” word again! Join us at the Opening Ceremony, Friday, July 20th at 6PM where survivors will release butterflies into the evening sky.