SCARBOROUGH – Rose Mary Sherr, 88, passed away peacefully of natural causes at her residence on Sunday, June 28, 2020.She was born in Davenport, Iowa on June 20, 1932, the daughter of Elizabeth M. (Layden) Spahr and Ervin L. Spahr and the third of six children. Rose Mary, “Rosie”, was named after her grandmothers, Rose Marie (Bartemeyer) Layden of Davenport, Iowa and Rose Mary (Zahn) Spahr of Erie, Pa.Rosie’s childhood years were spent living and growing up in Mishawaka and Tipton, Indiana. It was on the family farm in Tipton, Ind. where she completed many farm chores, learned agricultural and gardening skills, found her joy of reading, and raised her treasured pet lamb, Penny. Rose Mary was a graduate of St. John The Baptist Elementary School in 1946 and Tipton High School in 1950, where she was elected to the National Honor Society and was a member of the Thespian’s Club. She then went on to receive her Bachelor of Science degree in Dietetics in 1954 from Indiana University (Bloomington). She was also a member of Delta Gamma sorority.While in college, she spent one summer working in food services for Bryce Canyon National Park. On her way to becoming a Registered Dietitian, Rosie completed her internship at Eastman Kodak, Rochester, N.Y. Her first paying job, however, was de-tasseling corn stocks by hand (without modern day machinery) for Pioneer Seed Corn Co. in Tipton. While working in New York City as a dietitian for the New York public school system, Rosie met the love of her life, Paul Edgar Sherr, on a double-blind date. At the time, Paul was completing his master’s degree in Meteorology at New York University. They were married on May 26, 1956 and made their first home in Port Washington (Long Island), N.Y. before subsequently residing in Fort Bliss, Texas; Ann Arbor, Mich.; Carlisle, Mass.; and Scarborough (Higgins Beach).Rose Mary truly enjoyed being a loving homemaker and raising her four children with Paul in Carlisle, Mass. With an empty nest in 1985, Rosie went back to school part-time at Middlesex Community College in Concord, Mass. She was then employed for several years as a tax preparer and financial consultant for H adn R Block and as a pre-blasting home inspector for a rock coring and blasting contractor. In the early 1990s, Rose Mary and Paul bought their retirement home and moved to Maine permanently, where they spent their retirement together for nearly 25 years. Rosie was passionate about reading, her Catholic faith and spirituality, and loved gardening, from large vegetable gardens to her beautiful and colorfully exquisite homegrown flower gardens. She was an avid member of the Longfellow Garden Club, Scarborough Library Book Club, and The Comfort and Joy Book Club at St. Maximilian Kolbe Church in Scarborough and was a member and past president of the Scarborough Garden Club. She also loved afternoon tea parties and cocktail hours on the front lawn at Higgins Beach with her cherished neighbors and friends.Rose Mary is survived by her daughter, Mary Elizabeth (Sherr) Landry, and her three sons, Frederick Paul Sherr, Thomas Edgar Sherr and wife Monique, and Peter James Sherr; 10 grandchildren; seven great-grandchildren; her brother, Frederick Spahr and wife Patricia; sister-in-law, Ruth (Sherr) Bocharski; and 20 nieces and nephews.Rose Mary was predeceased in death by her late dear husband of 62 years, Paul Edgar Sherr, who died on March 25, 2018. She was also predeceased by three sisters, Elizabeth (Spahr) Burns, Kathryn (Spahr) Stubing, and Susan Spahr, and one brother, Thomas Spahr.Due to COVID-19 considerations, a Mass of Christian Burial at St. Maximilian Kolbe Church, 150 Black Point Road, Scarborough, Interment at Black Point Cemetery in Scarborough, and a celebration of Rosie’s life will be planned by the family at a later date. Condolences and fond memories may be expressed online at http://www.hobbsfuneralhome.com. In lieu of flowers, please consider a memorial donation in Rose Mary’s name to:Hospice of Southern Maine180 US Route OneScarborough, ME 04074

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