Sheryl (Gridley) Nash

In the words of W.H. Auden, it is time to: “Pack up the moon and dismantle the sun. Pour away the ocean and sweep up the wood. For nothing now can ever come to any good.” On April 25, 2026, Sheryl Nash succumbed to her broken heart to reunite with her late husband, Hal.

Born on April 23, 1946, in Hornell, New York, Sheryl Ann Gridley was first a daughter to Homer and Virginia Gridley and a sister and lifelong best friend to Michael Gridley. The family moved all over New York State. From Hornell to Pennellville to Utica to Pittsford to Horseheads to Liverpool and back to Pennellville. They toured the state. It was during the years they lived on Maryland Lane in Liverpool (really Bayberry) that Sheryl would meet Hal Nash. He may or may not have been on a date with someone else at the time. But as fate would have it, that didn’t matter. It was just meant to be. The two would fall madly in love.

Sheryl graduated from Liverpool High School and then from SUNY Potsdam. On June 15, 1968, just a few weeks after Sheryl graduated from Potsdam, Sheryl and Hal married at Liverpool First Presbyterian Church. They honeymooned in Cape Cod because that was about as far as they could get on the gas money they had. After, they moved into a small apartment at what would end up being one of three stops they made along the way in Bayberry – Morgan Gardens, Treeline Drive, and Mallard Path. Their home movies shot on what was known as “film” strongly suggest that, in these early years, they and their friends had a rip-roaring good time being young and in love.

Sheryl was a teacher at Palmer Elementary in Baldwinsville until 1971 when she gave birth to her oldest son, Doug. Sheryl’s youngest son, and only other child, Dave, came along four years later in 1975. The next 20 or so years were why Sheryl was put on this Earth. The world has never known a more supportive, loving, fiercely protective, and, frankly, hilarious mother. Even the toiletries she bought for her boys as they went off to college were selected with Sheryl’s own signature brand of love and humor in mind. Many know the story. For everyone else, we can just leave it at some of the “stuff” she packed had whiskers attached where no one in their right mind would ever want whiskers to be. Which, as Sheryl undoubtedly had planned, came as quite a shock when that “stuff” was about to be put to use.

Sheryl went back to teaching in the late 1980s, this time at Liverpool Elementary in the Village of Liverpool. Sheryl was the kindergarten teacher all the parents wanted their kids to get. From turning caterpillars into butterflies on milkweed she picked along country roads to hatching chickens, there was never a dull moment in Mrs. Nash’s classroom. And, there is a group of kids who grew up in Liverpool who have Mrs. Nash to thank for learning that when someone tells you to “pull up your socks” it actually has nothing to do with your socks.

In later years, Sheryl and Hal moved to a house on the Seneca River in Lysander. They also traveled some. On one trip, in what was a reflection of the humble view she had of her place in the world, Sheryl turned to Hal as they stood before the Eiffel Tower and said, I can’t believe I am here, “I am just a girl from Pennellville.” Sheryl also mastered the art of Toll painting during these years. The heirlooms she created will be treasured by her family for generations to come.

Around the same time, grandkids started to arrive on the scene. From jokes, to very direct questions, to inventing her own version of common colloquial phrases, to feeding seagulls in the middle of a beach wedding, Sheryl’s unique sense of humor and filter-less approach to life kept everyone on their toes and usually laughing. Usually. “Oh Grandma!” was a phrase heard at many family events over the years. We all will miss hearing that. From Sheryl’s smile, to her laugh, to her doing or saying the unexpected, family events will never be the same without her.

Ever since her boys were old enough to understand, Sheryl made it clear that she wanted “Unchained Melody” by The Righteous Brothers played at her funeral. It is a beautiful song about love and loss. It will be played. But it is worth noting now that the song includes the prophetic line, “lonely rivers sigh, wait for me, wait for me, I'll be coming home, wait for me.” Hal did not have long to wait. Sheryl has come home.

Sheryl is survived by her sons, Doug and Dave, daughters-in-law, Lindy (Doug) and Jill (Dave), her brother, Dr. Michael Gridley, her sister-in-law, Brenda Gridley, her sister-in-law, Deb Martin, her brother-in-law, Dan Martin, and her nieces and nephew. Sheryl also is survived by her seven grandchildren who she spoiled with love, attention, and lots of candy, Virginia, Riley, Teck, and Abby (Doug), and Katie Jane, Kellan, and Braden (Dave). There are no words to adequately describe the giant hole that has been left in all of our hearts by her passing.

The family plans private services to honor Sheryl’s life and asks that anyone wishing to honor their memory of Sheryl consider doing so by making a memorial donation to the Dementia Society of America. 

The family also wishes to express their heartfelt appreciation to the staff and affiliates of ConstantCare247 and the staff of the Iroquois Skilled Nursing Community who helped care for Sheryl for much of the last year. In particular, the family wishes to thank Amber Voll for her help and guidance as the end drew near.

Please sign the funeral home on-line guest book for Sheryl to express your condolences to her family.