Westport resident and wide-ranging civic volunteer Sheryl (“Sherry”) Jagerson died Sunday, after a long illness. She was surrounded by her children and grandchildren, at her longtime Nash Pond home. She was 80 years old.
Her family says, “Sherry led an extraordinary life, filled with adventure, curiosity and a deep love for her family, the environment and her community. Her inquisitive spirit, unflagging positivity and sense of wonder inspired those in her orbit, and leave a lasting legacy.”
Young Sherry Jagerson
Sherry graduated from Long Beach State University, in the city where she was raised.
She grew up body surfing and water skiing, the foundation for her enduring love of the ocean and outdoors.
Sherry married Gordon Todd Jagerson in 1964. They and their 3 children moved to Connecticut in 1972.
Though she and Todd divorced, they remained lifelong friends and co-parents. Over the next 50 years Sherry raised 2 generations. She was a gracious host to many in her unique log cabin, set against the beauty of Nash Pond.
Sherry was a sailor and captain. She worked for many years in the sailing industry, and as an entrepreneur. After an early stint at North Sails and Ockam Instruments, she started Jagerson Sail Loft. She made and repaired sails for 10 years.
Later she created Women’s Sailing Adventures, a business teaching women open-ocean sailing in Maine, the San Juan Islands, the Caribbean and New Zealand.
Sherry Jagerson, at sea.
Sherry was an ocean sailing veteran at a time when it was rare for women to crew ocean races. She competed in several Bermuda Races, a transatlantic race, and survived the harrowing 1979 Fastnet race. She was also a first mate, sailing for Sea Education Association (SEA) out of Woods Hole.
Sherry was an avid hiker too, leading family outings on the Appalachian Trail for many years.
Sherry Jagerson with her daughter, Stacy Fowle.
In her later years Sherry became an activist for many causes, focused on water, nature and her community.
She was a steward for Nash Pond. She helped create the Sherwood Mill Pond Preserve, on the site of the former Allen’s Clam House.
Sherry Jagerson was a driving force behind development of the Sherwood Mill Pond Preserve.
Sherry led one of the first initiatives to ban plastic bags in the country. She created the Habitat for Humanity ReStore, helped found the Westbridge Coalition, was a founding board member for United with Kenya, and served on the board of the Unitarian Universalist Congregation in Westport.
Sherry is survived by her children Stacy (Andy) Fowle, Wendy (Max) Teleki and Gordon “Ty” Jagerson (Elisa); grandchildren Adelaide, Clementine, Jasper, Ayla, Tibor, Taj, Ava, Naoma and Huck; former husband Todd Jagerson, and siblings William J. Gillis II and Patricia Shephard.
A celebration of Sherry’s life, open to the community, is set for Saturday, June 15 (1:30 p.m., Unitarian Universalist Congregation in Westport).
In lieu of flowers, Sherry would have wanted people to donate or give time to their favorite environmental organization. Those Sherry supported included Harbor Watch, Sierra Club, Earthplace and the Appalachian Mountain Club.
Sherry Jagerson (blue), surrounded by her children, grandchildren and in-laws.
Sherry was a truly wonderful person. I worked side by side with her in Westbridge Coalition, a volunteer group that does home rehab and repair for those in Fairfield County who can’t afford it.
Sad news. Wonderful person, big environmentalist. I had the pleasure of working with Sherry through Earthplace. My thoughts are with her family.
Fair winds and following seas Sherry , you will be missed.
My condolences to Wendy,Stacy, and Ty… you all inherited that active way… I now know where you all got your athletic abilities when we we kids… Old Hill-Kings Highway area and the town won’t be the same…May her memory live on through you all…
Sherry’s enthusiasm and dedication inspired me on so many days when I was feeling defeated and discouraged. Thank you for all your support, not just for me, but of our beautiful natural world. You will not be forgotten.
Alicia Mozian
Former Conservation Director
I did not know Sherry but she sounds like an amazing and generous woman who loved life and lived it to the fullest.
My children grew up just up the road from Sherry’s wonderful log cabin on Nash’s Pond. The only house on the pond that would let the children access the pond to ice skate in winter was Sherry’s. And her back porch was lined with skates that she would find at tag sales. Any child who didn’t have skates could just borrow a pair. And to top it off her son Ty happily taught all the kids to play hockey. It was a wonderful thing.
I’m so sorry to hear this news. I had the pleasure of working alongside Sherry for several years as a member of the volunteer committee that, under her leadership, transformed the former Allen’s Clam House property into today’s Sherwood Mill Pond Preserve. Her gentle and patient personality, in combination with her passionate commitment to the environmental benefits of creating the Preserve, were not only motivational to me and our colleagues, but could also disarm even the toughest naysayers.
Long after the project was completed (though it’s never forever done), my visits to the Preserve would continue to bring Sherry to mind – visions of her dressed in a broad-brimmed hat to protect her from the sun, and wearing her rubber boots to ward off ticks or mud. These memories will be all the more poignant now when I pause at her bench and remember her kind spirit and her selfless stewardship of the Mill Pond and its Preserve. I remain forever grateful.
Wonderful tribute to Sherry Dan. Thoughts are with Stacey and her siblings, and extended family. We ofter forget, these preserves like the one at Sherwood Mill Pond don’t happen by accident.
Wonderful life and legacy.
This is heartbreaking news. Warm condolences to her family and to the whole town her efforts benefited. I hope we will be able to honor her contributions and memory by renaming, or at least naming some part of the Preserve, for her.
Sherry never lost her sense of adventure, her love of life, and most of all, her love of her family. Our shared grandkids and Elisa were blessed to have her in their lives for so many years.
Sherry was a dear friend for thirty years.
She was an extraordinary force and will always be one!