Sherrie Hassing

Happy heavenly birthday mom! You should be so proud of the family you created. We spent your birthday remembering you and bringing old memories back to life with your grandkids. We love you! ❤️

The 2025 season has ended. Mama aka Sherrie has passed away. She said it best in 2023 to a newspaper reporter. He asked her what her title was. She said "I'm just mom." He looked at her funny and asked her again, where she repeated herself again. She then said "she can't do it without me." She is right, it can't be done without her. Thousands of you have had the honor to eat food my mom cooked. That was her love language. Her favorite thing was to prepare delicious food that would fill your tummy. And, as many of you know, she would tell you to call her "mom", "ma", or "mama Sherrie". She was a mom to all and loved it. Goodbye mama, I will see you at the stand someday.

I grew up going to work with my mom. She was the kitchen manager and I learned quickly what it meant to be in a kitchen. My siblings and I all did. Each one of us started by doing dishes at The Club. I was 11. By 14, I was waitressing because my sister was sick one Thursday evening. I still remember my mom saying "well go get ready. Jess is sick so it's up to you" not having any formal training. I begged her to let me fry cook, but she made me wait until I was 16 to learn (legally have to but thought she would let me. After all, I was doing other things I shouldn't have been). After that, we spent many nights in a restaurant kitchen. This of course led me to choose culinary arts in college. I quickly became lucky enough to take my mom to work with me. Even if you did not meet her, she was a part of almost every meal I have catered. Countless phone calls, math ratios for portions, recipes, how to, and more. I'd call her again after an event to tell her who I met that she knew and that they said hello. She would come to my shop and help do anything I asked of her (mostly lol), but her favorite was delivering Valentine's Day items with her best friend Diane. My mom would tell people I am a chef because I have proper training and she was just a cook. But she was so much more than that. Not only to me but so many other "kids" she raised in the industry teaching them to cook and serve. She was a mentor to many and a mother to all.

As all of us here today know, mom was a special person. She was unapologetically herself. She was a great cook, mentor, and friend. She would tell you to call her "mom", "ma" or "mama". She was spunky, sarcastic, loyal and loving. Sherrie loved her kids more than anything in the world. Matt - Matt was first born, her only son. Or as she would say "Steve's carbon copy". I didn't understand what she meant until others told me the same thing and I saw photos. But now I can see it - Matt really is all Hassing and all Steve. My mom loved getting to see a little Stevie grow up. Well until he was college aged. My mom told me one night to quit cooking for him and for Jess to stop doing his laundry - even if he was paying us. She said he will never leave, and he would never find a wife. When Emily came around, she never mentioned it again. She knew Emily was the one for Matt. She teased that emily can stay forever even if Matt decided no. My mom was especially proud of the woodwork Matt did, and she always had a business card on hand as well as stories of how much he was like Steve. Next came Jessica. I think Jessica threw my mom for a loop because it took her time to realize how similar they were to each other. When we were younger & mom would go to work & we would stay home, mom would ask how Jess was that day. Sometimes I would tell my mom Jess was being a princess, because I wasn't allowed to swear. Well turns out she never understood what I said. Last year she finally learned that if Jess was being a princess, it meant she was being a bit bitchy. Man, she laughed when I told her that. As much as they would bicker a bit come high school, Jessica was my mother's daughter and she wasn't letting anyone forget that. My mom was a protector and a lover, and no one would get in her way, definitely not any boys. Jessica was always a "mother hen" to me as my mom would say. Sometimes a Bossy Betty. Sometimes a Crabby Abby. But then I think she realized that Jess was just like her. Jessica was her nurse. Her kid who went to real college she told me. Her kid who is helping others in a way she couldn't. She wouldn't have business cards to carry, but that doesn't mean she wouldn't tell people just what she was up to. Mom told me Jessica is resilient and strong, beautiful and caring. she will learn that we don't actually need men. Us Hassing girls stick together and know our worth. Tyler came into the picture and mom told me that he's a stenzel. He knows just what Jessica needs and he will take care of all of us. Lacey - I was last born, the baby. My mom still called me her baby, up until the end. She told me many times that God took away dad because he gave her me. I still don't know if that's true but she swore there was a reason she got me. Mom & I just clicked. Maybe its because I am the baby. Maybe its because she drug me to work weekly. Maybe its because she would say I am the "deadly dually" of both her and dad. We would get along great until I was stressed at work and she would ask me a dumb question. I would snap at her a bit. That would lead her to calling Jessica to say "lacey is being mean to me today" to which Jessica would ask "well did you deserve it?" And then between that and my apology for snapping, we would be back to normal in no time. Being able to work with your parent is a strange but such rewarding gift. I think my mom handed out more of my business cards then I ever did. She was always needing more. Mom asked me what kind of guy Adam was. I said well, he's freakishly like Matt. They are very very alike. She said well good. If he's like Matt; He's just like your dad. He can stick around. Grandkids - mom's grandkids were her next pride and joy. Her now little again Matt and Jessica. With hints of lacey - example: Riley being a chatterbox. She loved her grandkids with her soul. Again, she had a special relationship with them. She was Grayson's favorite person right away. She was maddie's onionhead and maddie was her tatorhead. Terry - when Terry came in the picture my mom was almost silly. She would talk to me and jess like we were high school girlfriends. Saying they were just gonna hang out a bit and not really date. That they enjoy each other's company & Its just someone to talk to. It didn't take long for us to realize what Terry was for her. He was her sounding board, her man friend (kids have boyfriends Lace, i have a man friend), that he is her missing puzzle piece. Although she tried like hell to push him away, he stayed. And she needed him. Terry made her more happy in the last 16 months then I have ever seen her. She told me she even enjoyed his company more than being alone. That it was weird, he just plain understood her. I told her she deserved that, and we all love him too, because we do. She said God took her bestie Diane because he gave her Terry. Grandma - my grandma and my mom had different ideas. But she so loved her mom. Mom was happy to have grandma here in Wells. She made many jokes about going on more dates with her man friend and her mom now then she ever had before. Having grandma close by gave mom a sense of peace. There are too many memories to list of mom, just like it should be. But I want to list a few. She told us from a young age that thunder was just our loved ones in heaven playing bowling, so you can bet there's going to be some big booms coming. She taught us to always have the music loud, no one likes it quiet & dancing in the living room is a must. She taught us to love, and to love big. Lean on your people, like she would with her bestie Diane. She was a big believer a home cooked meal could change your day and your mood. If she could just "fatten you up a bit" by cooking for you, she loved it. Mom, I know you believed everything happens for a reason but right now trying to find that reason sucks. At least we know you're not alone. Say hi to dad & finally take your trip to Arizona. Go for a drive with Diane. Oh, and can you let Dixie out to potty? Love you more mom.