Jeri Lynn Sherby's Life Celebration in the VDR

• Jeri Lynn Banina Sherby was the daughter of Tamburitza Bandleader Jerome "Jerry Banina"
  • She played Tamburitza and danced in performing groups and for fun
  • For several years following Jerry's death in 2011, she stayed away from Balkan dance and music
  • In 2013 she started dancing with Ethnic Dance Chicago (EDC) as she found out about our ethnic dance activities in our meetup.com group
    • She first joined our group at one of the special Friday dance parties EDC did in conjunction with the Old Town School of Folk Music with Braca Tamburitza Orchestra and then became a regular participant at our Friday dances
• RIght away we became "pen pals" via email and texting
  • She started asking me for music from my collection that she liked and sent me many of her favorite tunes from her and her dad's music collection as well as tunes she discovered on youtube or elsewhere
  • Jeri Lynn loved the Hungarian band Sondergo that specializes in playing Tamburitza music from Croatia and Serbia and we always made plans to support them and attend their concerts whenever they passed through Chicago
• I knew that her passions beyond Balkan music and dance included:
  • animals - she had many pets including dogs, cats, rabbits and Guinea pigs
  • flowers and nature - she was an avid gardner
  • fishing - a passion she shared with her husband, John
  • More recently she told me about two of her sports passions - volleyball and softball
    • We only then began to share sports stories as those were also passions of mine for many years
• Jeri Lynn really enjoyed Mara Kins's rooftop parties and she sent me some lovely photos that she had taken at those events
  • I know I have a few photos of Jeri Lynn at dancing I but could not find them quickly
    • I did find one of her at the Military Honor Guard ceremony for her dad from March 2021
    • I also found some photos of her on a fishing trip with John in 2015
• I've scheduled some of Jeri Lynn's favorite dances to be played in the VDR on Friday, December 17, following the second Bulgarian live music set
  • Some of her favorite dances included:
    • Kolo U Sest (Croatian, Serbian)
    • Kolo Zita (Croatian, Slavonian)
    • Narino (Turkish)
    • Long Cacak (Serbian)
    • Esmer (Turkish)
    • Veliko Kolo (Croatian, Vojvodinian)
    • New Sest (Serbian)
    • Seljancica (Croatian, Serbian)
    • Urva Fanka (Macedonian)
    • Krici, Krici, Ticek (Croatian)
    • Cobankat (Albanian)
    • Cocek (Serbian/Roma)
    • Vranjanka (Belo Lence)
  • I will include others as time and interest permits
• It should be a fun evening
• Jeri Lynn is survived by her husband of 40 years, John; son Jay (Lauren); brothers Gary (Patty), Dan (Helene); and many nieces and nephews.
• In lieu of flowers donations can be given to Humane Indiana in her name.
• Visitation: Friday December 17, 2021 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM, Hillside Funeral Home & Cremation Center, 8941 Kleinman Rd., Highland, IN 46322
• The family will announce plans for the type of memorial service that Jeri Lynn had requested sometime early next year