John Rolland Sherman Sr.

John Rolland Sherman, Sr., 83, passed away peacefully surrounded by his family at the Douglas County Hospital in Alexandria, MN on November 21, 2015 following a brief illness. He leaves his wife of 60 years, Cleone (Sandstrom) Sherman; his daughter Mary Jo Carlson (Bruce) of Bellevue, WA; his son Jim Sherman of St. Cloud, MN; his six grandchildren: Andy Sherman of Minneapolis, MN; Sunny Sherman of Seattle, WA; Abby Sherman of San Francisco, CA: Ayn Carlson of Redmond, WA; Cole Carlson of Bellevue, WA; and Brian Sherman of St. Paul, MN. He was preceded in death by his parents Rolland and Emma (Madsen) Sherman of Marshall, MN; his sister Judy Trujillo of Tucson, AZ; and his son John Rolland Sherman, Jr. of Kimball, SD. In his early years, John worked after school and summers to help in his father’s business, the Coca-Cola Bottling Co. of Marshall, MN. After graduating from Marshall HS in 1950, he attended the University of MN, Duluth, graduating in 1954 with a Bachelor’s Degree in Business. He met Cleone while both were students at UMD, and they were married in her hometown of Grand Rapids, MN in 1955. John was in the Air Force ROTC program during his college years, and after their wedding they resided in Alamogordo, NM where John served at the White Sands Proving Ground. They later moved to Albuquerque, NM where John served at the Kirtland AFB. After John completed his service, they moved to Marshall where John resumed working in the family Coca-Cola business, eventually taking it over after his father’s death in 1965. John was a member of Demolay in high school and later was very active in all of the Masonic orders. Throughout his life, John was civic-minded and generously gave of himself and his resources to pay it forward. John was an avid golfer, hunter, and fisherman. Family and friends were most important to him, above all else. A special thank you to all of John’s loving caregivers who gave so generously of themselves and enriched his life, and to the wonderful end-of-life care given by the medical and nursing staff of Douglas Co. Hospital. Visitation will be from 4:00 to 6:00pm on Monday, November 30th at Anderson Funeral Home in Alexandria. John’s funeral service will be at 11:00am Tuesday, December 1st at Emmanuel Episcopal Church (602 12th Ave East) in Alexandria. Memorials are preferred to the Shriner’s Children’s Hospital of MN or donor’s choice.

John Rolland Sherman Sr.

November 2, 1932 - November 21, 2015