Sherry A. Willis, entrepreneur, teacher, and counselor, has died at 76

Sherry A. Willis, 76, of Westampton, business owner, high school and college teacher, marriage counselor, church leader, and mentor, died Tuesday, Aug. 27, of cancer at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital.

Mrs. Willis founded Sherry’s Greenery in 1977 and Sherry’s Boutique in 1985, and rose to senior independent sales director as a Mary Kay beauty consultant. She also represented Doncaster women’s clothing in direct sales, and her groundbreaking high-end women’s clothing boutique at Philadelphia International Airport was so successful she opened a second store that featured children’s wear.

She was a member of the National Business Education Association and featured in a 1986 story in The Inquirer about a minority-owned business boom at the airport. “From September of last year to September of this year, business increased 79 percent,” she said. “So we may have turned the corner.”

She added a greenhouse to her home in South Jersey, and Sherry’s Greenery provided interior plantscapes for restaurants, offices, businesses, homes, and other locations. She oversaw budgets, schedules, and staffing for her businesses, and organized popular local fashion shows to market her clothing. Her family praised her “business acumen and drive” in a tribute, and called her a “trailblazer” and “natural leader.”

She earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration at Boston University in 1971 and taught business classes in the 1980s and ‘90s at what is now Rowan University, Haddon Township and Edgewood High Schools, and Living Faith Christian Academy. She studied secretarial science at Temple University, taught secretarial studies at Pierce Junior College in the 1970s, and helped establish its shorthand lab for remedial students. She was also active for years with the New Jersey Education Association.

Empathetic and innovative, Mrs. Willis and her husband, Ed, were certified as marriage counselors, and they helped found the Perfecting Church in Sewell. She was an elder and accounting administrator at the church, and she led its beautification ministry.

She mentored young women in school, church, and the workplace, and her family said: “She was a dreamer whose determination would later shape the remarkable life she led.”

Sherry Ann McHarris was born April 13, 1948, in Philadelphia. She grew up with her twin sister, Terry, and older brother, Ronald, in Mount Airy and graduated from Germantown High School in 1965.

She met Ed Willis, also a Germantown graduate, at a party when she was 16, and — after a ride home, a memorable pizza, and many dates afterward — they married in 1969. They moved to Massachusetts to attend college, returned to the Philadelphia area afterward, and had daughters Danielle and LeeAnn, and sons Ed Jr. and Christopher. They lived in Sicklerville and Voorhees before moving to Westampton.

Mrs. Willis enjoyed back-to-school shopping sprees with her children and hosting the annual summer Camp Willis for her grandchildren. She liked to decorate her home at Christmas and other holidays, and she bought new winter coats for dozens of children in the neighborhood over the years.

She traveled the world with her husband, and they celebrated her 75th birthday in 2023 with big events in all 12 months. They renewed their wedding vows on their 50th anniversary in 2019, and her husband said: “She was wonderfully unique. Grounded and optimistic, always looking to make an impact.”

In 1980, she was seriously injured in a car crash. “Family was everything to Sherry, and she devoted her life to building a legacy of love, faith, and togetherness,” her family said. “She was a woman of vision and ambition.”

Her son-in-law, Lucmann Pierre, said she embodied “the best of family values” and lovingly adapted her family’s favorite traditional meals to his preferences. Her daughter Danielle said: “She imparted excellence in everything she did. She told us to think as big as you desire.”

Her daughter LeeAnn said: “She was vibrant and joyful, humble, a go-getter. She believed in people. She saw the goodness in them, and she walked alongside them.”

In addition to her husband, children, brother and sister, Mrs. Willis is survived by five grandchildren and other relatives.

A celebration of her life was held on Sept. 17.

Donations in her name may be made to Loving Our Cities, 274 Delsea Dr., Sewell, N.J. 08080.