Sheri Hill Tomlinson

Sheri Hill Tomlinson was taken from us in an auto accident on April 19th, 2022 and we are devastated by her passing. Sheri was and is a bright light in so many lives and she will never be forgotten. Sheri is an exceptional person who is beautiful, smart, happy and definitely one of a kind. Sheri had an authentic laugh and, once she got tickled, she could not stop giggling for up to a half an hour sometimes. Sheri loved so many things but people were her focus. Sheri helped everyone around her in every manner possible. Among other things, Sheri loved to provide baked goods to friends and family, help with doctor's appointments, provide nutritional advice, research genealogy, offer technical computer support and, most importantly, make everyone feel loved.

Sheri loved to bake sweets and she has recently mastered the art of Keto-style desserts. In addition to desserts, Sheri was a very talented cook and routinely prepared restaurant-quality fare. Besides food, Sheri enjoyed traveling and seeing new things and places. She especially enjoyed Costa Rica and went there several times. Sheri also traveled to eight other countries in the Americas and Europe. Sheri was a very good photographer and she has documented our family events for 40 plus years now with photos in all manner of occasions and places. Sheri was an accomplished project manager and event manager. Sheri has recently been planning a University of Arkansas graduation party for her son and his girlfriend in Fayetteville with venue, food, decorations, invitations, cakes, etc. One of Sheri's largest projects was to build her home on Mountain Creek. Sheri was the director for the entire project including design (interior and exterior), contracting, procurement, finance, sweat equity and permitting. This project involved moving a beloved two-story family home from Stillwater to Mountain Creek as the bones of the new home. Sheri designed and built a truly beautiful home over the course of three years.

Sheri became enamored with antique furniture-so much so that she started a business called The Gilded Griffin in Tulsa and traveled to England to load up a container with antiques! The antique business was a perfect fit for Sheri because it put her in contact with a continuous stream of people which she thoroughly enjoyed. Sheri had an amazing gift of remembering people after meeting them only once. In one instance, she recognized a person from grade school after not seeing her for over 40 years! Sheri absolutely loved the time she spent with her friends every week. Sheri's Thursday lunch group was a key part of her happiness. She enjoyed movies all of her life and most Fridays attended movies with one of her best friends-something that they did for many years. Prior to house building and antiques selling Sheri was a database system design expert. Sheri started working with computer systems in the 1980's before the introduction of the personal computer and continued working in the field until 2000. The technical skills she learned in the systems design field very much shaped how Sheri tackled projects and problems. She always worked towards the most efficient and effective resolution to challenges.

Our beloved Sheri entered the world on December 27th, 1961 in Muskogee, Oklahoma USA. Sheri attended grade school, junior high and high school in Sapulpa Oklahoma graduating in 1980. Sheri worked at Western National Bank in two stints up to 1984. Concurrent to her WNB work, Sheri earned an Associate of Science Degree at Tulsa Junior College. Next, Sheri worked for TJC (now TCC) until mid-1989 where she then completed another Associate of Science degree at TJC while working. In the mid-80's, Sheri met her future husband in Stillwater, Oklahoma. In parallel with the latter years at TJC, Sheri started her own business called Power Data which lasted for three years providing database design services. After TJC, Sheri worked at MAPCO until mid-1993 as a Systems Analyst while completing a Bachelor degree in Business Administration at Northeastern State University. In the summer of 1993 Sheri moved to California with her future husband Lynn. Sheri joined the technical team at the University of California at Berkeley for six years where she rose to the level of senior manager. Not only did Sheri have a rewarding technical career at Berkeley but she also made lifelong friends with many of her coworkers. While living in California Sheri had two major life events, Sheri married Harvard Lynn Tomlinson Jr. on the California Hornblower in the San Francisco Bay on October 23rd, 1993 and on December 24th, 1996 gave birth to Gavin Mackenzie Tomlinson. In the summer of 1998, Sheri and family moved back to Tulsa where she encountered a difficult breast cancer diagnosis. Through her perseverance and the love and support of family, friends and excellent medical care, Sheri has been cancer-free for 22 years.

Sheri loved animals. At some point in her life she has kept dogs, cats, a cockatiel, a ferret and even a caiman. As a young girl, she was a bit of a tomboy. Sheri loved to swim, climb trees, ride bicycles, motorcycles, roller skating and rock climbing. Later in life, Sheri enjoyed adventure sports like white water rafting, zip lining, canyoning and became a certified scuba diver. Sheri was goal-oriented, a detailed thinker and driven with an extreme thirst for knowledge. Sheri would expect all of us to live our lives to the fullest just as she did.

Sheri is survived by her husband H. Lynn Tomlinson and son Gavin Tomlinson both of Leonard, OK; her mother Nancy Jones and brother Jimmy Hill of Jenks, OK; her sister Sue Follis of Tulsa, OK; and many nephews, cousins and aunts. Sheri was predeceased by her father Harold Clay Hill and her stepfather Dr. Daniel R. Jones.

Sheri supports many charities which include Meals on Wheels, Community Food Bank, John 3:16 Mission, OETA, Indian Nation Council (BSA), Family & Children's Services, Public Radio Tulsa, Heifer International and Bixby Community Outreach Center. The family requests that in lieu of flowers a donation be made to one of the aforementioned charities or to a charity of your choice in memory of Sheri.

Funeral services will be under the direction of Schaudt's Tulsa Funeral Service.