Sherry Coplen

Sherry Blackman Coplen, of Ruidoso, NM has been called home to be with Jesus following complications from Alzheimer's.  Sherry passed away in her home on April 9, 2024, with members of her family present.  

Services will be held on April 24, 2024, at 1:30 at the Redeemer Christian Fellowship Church, located at 3000 Franklin in Midland, Texas.  The family invites you to wear purple and/or red in celebration of her life. 

Her mind and body are free of the prison that she had been living in and she is rejoicing in the presence of the Lord.  While Alzheimer's robbed her of many memories, she never lost her sense of humor.  She would often tell her kids that her thinker was broken.

Sherry, otherwise known as Grammy, was born July 28, 1947 in Brownwood, Texas to Blackie and Nell Thompson.  At an early age, she gained another dad, William Blackman who raised her as his own.  She moved to Midland as a young child, attending Midland Public Schools and graduated from Robert E. Lee High School in 1965.  She then went to Sul Ross University in Alpine, Texas on a rodeo scholarship.  Sherry was much more dedicated to the rodeo and partying than to her academics.  She thoroughly enjoyed her time there and had no regrets.  Growing up she was involved in Girl Scouts, Summer Mummers, dancing and other theatrical endeavors.  Sherry had very diverse interests and was a traveler at heart. She often talked about how she went to Louisiana to work on a crab boat as a crab fisher during the summer.  She would say it was some of the hardest work she ever did.

Sherry moved back to Midland and married Jerry Coplen on February 18, 1969 in Ciudad Acuna.  Together, they had three kids, William (Bill), Kimberly and Heather.  Sherry worked for various companies in Midland, including Travelers Insurance and Yale E. Key.  For a time after they were married, she owned a bar/pool hall called Hungry Eye and would talk about it often with fond memories.

A little later in life, Sherry decided to fulfill her lifelong dream of becoming a nurse.  Sherry went back to college and earned her Nursing Degree, while working multiple jobs and raising three children.  She graduated from nursing school as a Registered Nurse in May of 1986.  After graduating Sherry went to work for Midland Memorial Hospital as an oncology nurse.  She also worked for Allison Cancer Center, Dr. Schneider and Dr. Watkins.

Sherry then decided she wanted an adventure.  She moved to St. George, Utah and worked for the oncology center there.  After several years, Sherry moved back to Texas and went to work for Hospice of Midland and then Hospice of San Angelo.  Hospice (and cancer treatment) were her true calling in life.  She absolutely loved the work she did and the lives she impacted.  Sherry developed a passion for cancer treatment and pain management after watching a beloved aunt suffer from the disease.  She never forgot the lessons she learned.

As her kids were growing up, she made sure that no matter how little money was available, the kids participated in any activities they desired.  This included soccer, twirling, softball, football, girl scouts, boy scouts and many other activities.  She was involved in every aspect of the activities.  She developed friendships during these times that would last the rest of her life.

After retiring, Sherry moved to Ruidoso, NM because she loved the weather and the mountains.  Sherry loved Ruidoso for the wild horses, deer, bears, and all other wildlife that she got to experience there.  She would often drive all over town looking for those sweet babies because they brought happiness to her life.  Sherry found joy in attending her little church in Ruidoso and in her children, grandchildren, great grandchildren and her great-great grandchildren.  She absolutely loved going to their various activities and would proudly show their photos to anyone that would look.

Sherry absolutely loved all holidays.  At the time of her passing, her Christmas tree was still up and decorated because she declared that she was going to leave it up all year.  As her children were growing up, she also loved Halloween with all her heart.  She would decorate the house in the spookiest way possible and dress up as a witch.  She had the best witch cackle there ever was and people would come from all over to be scared by her on Halloween.

Sherry is preceded in death by her grandparents, her mother, Nell Backman, her fathers, William Blackman and Blackie Thompson, and her husband, Jerry Coplen.

Sherry is survived by her sister, Trisha McGill; her children, Bill Coplen (wife, Jennifer), Kimberly Kondratick (husband, John), and Heather Maier (husband, Don) and a daughter in law, Pauline.  She is also survived by 11 grandchildren, 5 great grandchildren and two great-great grandchildren, as well as many nephews and nieces, an aunt and cousins.

As she got older, Sherry found a tremendous love for the Lord and her faith grew even stronger.  She always wanted to make sure that other people also grew in their faith of the Lord.  She would order Jesus Calling books or Christian Music CD's by the dozen to hand out to people that were struggling in their faith or who just needed to be lifted up in love.

In lieu of flowers, the family requested that any donations go to your local hospice, Cat Wrangles of Midland, or any other animal rescue.

The family would like to extend a heartfelt thank you to Enhabit Hospice of Ruidoso for their excellent care in the last few weeks of her life.  The family wanted to ensure her comfort and that her last days would be spent pain free in her home.  Enhabit helped ensure that his occurred.

The Coplen family has entrusted their loved one to the care of New Dawn Cremations.  Cremation will take place at PCS.

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Sherry Coplen, please visit our floral store.