Richard Lawrence Sherman, 60, beloved son of Dorothy and C.L. “Sonny” Sherman, went to be with his Lord and Savior on January 8, 2013. A native and lifelong resident of Beaumont, he was born on July 3, 1952.
When Richard was nine year old, the school nurse discussed a vision problem with his parents. Since both eyes were involved, they felt he had a tumor where the optic nerve crosses in his forehead. The doctor meticulously performed surgery around each optic nerve, and for a time he had normal vision. A few months later, his vision problems returned. Doctors tried in vain to get back to the optic nerve, but were not successful due to a mass of blood vessels surrounding the area. Soon after that, he had his first epilepsy attack.
After a long study, he had surgery at Hermann Hospital. As a result, he walked unassisted down the hall way looking like they had achieved a cure, but he soon came down with bacterial meningitis. He never walked unassisted again and was lucky to have survived at all. In order to relieve the pressure on his brain from the meningitis, they installed a shunt from the back of his head to his stomach cavity. Years later, Richard had surgery to connect a stimulator to the vagus nerve to help control and stop seizures.
Six weeks ago we were watching Richard twenty-four hours a day due to his declining health, and with the help of his caregivers. His father noticed Richard panting, called 911 and was told that without that emergency response, Richard would have died within a few minutes. He was given a ten percent chance of survival, but he slowly survived through three weeks in ICU at Christus St. Elizabeth Hospital and another three weeks at Harbor Hospital. Richard was released last Friday, and came home to the loving care of his parents. He took a sudden turn for the worse on Tuesday, and was again rushed to the hospital where he later passed away.
Richard’s favorite pastime was watching “Star Trek”. He enjoyed every generation of episodes, and had amassed a great collection of both VHS and DVD’s. His brother Gary always made sure that Richard’s collection was complete by sending him all the latest videos, and even replacing any that wore out.
Survivors other than his parents include his brother, Gary Lynn Sherman and his wife, Ellen, of Eugene, Oregon; sister, Janie Sherman Alley and her husband, Robert, of Huffman; nieces and nephews, Christopher Sherman, Jillian Bailey, and Shelly Flyn, all of Eugene, Oregon; and Tyler and Austin Alley of Huffman; uncle, Thomas Sandidge; and loyal friends and caregivers, Eric Nunez and Pete St. Clair.
A gathering of Mr. Sherman’s family and friends will be from 4:00 p.m. until 6:00 p.m., Friday, January 11, 2013, at St. Andrews Presbyterian Church, 1350 North 23rd Street, Beaumont. His funeral service will be 11:00 a.m., Saturday, January 12, 2013, at St. Andrews Presbyterian Church, with a committal to follow at Magnolia Cemetery, Beaumont under the direction of Broussard’s, 1605 North Major Drive, Beaumont.
Memorial contributions may be made to St. Andrews Presbyterian Church, 1350 North 23rd Street, Beaumont, Texas 77706.
