LUCILLE SHERRY HOUSER

Houston resident Lucille Sheridan Sherry Houser, 82, died at her home Jan. 3, 2005 from complications of Alzheimer's disease and dementia. A memorial service will be scheduled and announced at a later date.

Ms. Houser was born Oct. 8, 1922 in Roseville, Calif. She graduated from Eldorado County High School and received a degree from Eldorado County College. While in high school and into her college years, she was a member of the Rainbow Girls in Roseville.

After graduating from college, she moved to Los Angeles to be a Fishback model. In 1942, she moved to New York with her sister, Sandy, to be Powers models. She then returned to California and married her husband, Lt. Henry F. Durkee. She began motherhood in 1945 when she gave birth to her daughter, Sunny.

While living in Los Angeles, she worked for the American Red Cross and was a member of the Dolls charity, an organizer for the Army Ball, a member of the board of directors for the Alzheimer's Association, assisted in the organization of the yearly Jerry Lewis telethons for multiple sclerosis and was a member of the Unity Church in Santa Monica, Calif.

She moved to Alaska in 1998 and made her home in Houston to be close to her daughter.

Her daughter wrote, "Sherry would light up any room she walked into and her concern for others made her beautiful. Her love for animals gave homes to many homeless ones. Her dedication to charities saved many lives through her works. She could calm a frightened soul and heal a broken heart with a smile. An angel on Earth - how blessed we were to walk in joy with her. She helped anyone who asked. When she came to Alaska, she continued to help but her illness overtook her - yet not her heart. When she passed, an angel went home. Her name is Sherry, my mother, my very best friend."

She is survived by her daughter, Sunny Radebaugh of Houston; a sister, Sandy Payne of California; niece, Clancy Payne of Virginia and a nephew, Thomas Payne of California.

Arrangements were made by Valley Funeral Home & Crematory in Wasilla.