Sherry Miles Whitehead
January 11, 1947 — May 5, 2021
SHERRY WHITEHEAD
Our beloved Sherry Miles Whitehead passed away peacefully on May 5, 2021, with her niece, Elizabeth Miles Otto, by her side. She was 74. Sherry was born in Jackson, Mississippi but spent much of her remarkable life in Columbus, Mississippi. Sherry is preceded in death by her parents, Vivian Landrum Miles and Paschal James Miles, as well as her brother, Paschal Don Miles. She is survived by many loving family members: her husband, Calvin Lee Whitehead; her niece (Elizabeth Miles Otto [Richard Dean Otto]); nephews (Paschal Wayne Miles and Broxton Storm Miles); and great niece (Miller Grace Otto) and nephew (William Richard Dean Otto ). She was a devoted parishioner of the First Baptist Church of Columbus, MS. She will be missed greatly by all who knew her. In fact, many knew her as a loving, fearlessly loyal friend.
Put simply, Sherry had a positively infectious smile and laugh. Perhaps nowhere was this more evident than when, at the age of 19, she won the Miss Columbus USA pageant and went on to compete in the Miss Mississippi pageant, where she served first as second- and then as first runner-up. Her extreme cleverness was never more on display than at the bridge table; indeed, Sherry played weekly with her mother until her mother’s death. She was an avid deep-sea fisherwoman, an activity she typically enjoyed alongside her father and brother.
Sherry Miles Whitehead was a woman of uncommon accomplishment. She was a graduate of Stephen D. Lee High School, Columbus, MS, and she earned her B.S. in Mathematics at the Mississippi University for Women (Columbus, MS). She went on to earn her M.A. in Mathematics Education at George Mason University (Fairfax, VA). Sherry worked as a high- school mathematics teacher before leaving that vocation to spend a year hiking through Colorado. Her free spirit then took her to Fairfax, VA where she worked for several automotive groups including the Mitsubishi Corporation, where she was Mitsubishi’s first ever female Northeast Regional Trainer. At the time of her retirement, she served as Resource and Sales Director for Cumulus Broadcasting, Columbus, MS.
Her most ardent and long-lived passion, until the day she died, was the compassionate, humane care of animals in need. Sherry spent years rescuing animals, helping to put them in the hands and hearts of loving homes—many times in her own home. She was a long-time, devoted volunteer at humane societies wherever she lived. It is in this spirit that Sherry’s family requests, in lieu of flowers, donations be made to the Columbus Lowndes Humane Society (https://clhumanesociety.org/donate-now/).
Put simply, Sherry had a positively infectious smile and laugh. Perhaps nowhere was this more evident than when, at the age of 19, she won the Miss Columbus USA pageant and went on to compete in the Miss Mississippi pageant, where she served first as second- and then as first runner-up. Her extreme cleverness was never more on display than at the bridge table; indeed, Sherry played weekly with her mother until her mother’s death. She was an avid deep-sea fisherwoman, an activity she typically enjoyed alongside her father and brother.
Sherry Miles Whitehead was a woman of uncommon accomplishment. She was a graduate of Stephen D. Lee High School, Columbus, MS, and she earned her B.S. in Mathematics at the Mississippi University for Women (Columbus, MS). She went on to earn her M.A. in Mathematics Education at George Mason University (Fairfax, VA). Sherry worked as a high- school mathematics teacher before leaving that vocation to spend a year hiking through Colorado. Her free spirit then took her to Fairfax, VA where she worked for several automotive groups including the Mitsubishi Corporation, where she was Mitsubishi’s first ever female Northeast Regional Trainer. At the time of her retirement, she served as Resource and Sales Director for Cumulus Broadcasting, Columbus, MS.
Her most ardent and long-lived passion, until the day she died, was the compassionate, humane care of animals in need. Sherry spent years rescuing animals, helping to put them in the hands and hearts of loving homes—many times in her own home. She was a long-time, devoted volunteer at humane societies wherever she lived. It is in this spirit that Sherry’s family requests, in lieu of flowers, donations be made to the Columbus Lowndes Humane Society (https://clhumanesociety.org/donate-now/).
Funeral services will be Friday, May 14, 2021, at 11:00 AM at First Baptist Church with Rev. Kevin Cuthbertson officiating. The interment will immediately follow at Memorial Gardens of Columbus. Visitation will be from 10:00 AM until the time of the service at First Baptist Church. Memorial Gunter Peel Funeral Home & Crematory 903 College St. location is in charge of arrangements.
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