George W. (Bill) Sherman II

Bill, 83, died June 23, 2017 in County Mayo Ireland while on vacation. He was born April 3, 1934, in the Bronx, New York to Harold and Anne Crawford Sherman. He grew up in Larchmont, New York and attended Choate prep school and Dartmouth College, where he was an Alpha Delta and Sphinx member. Following college he spent two years in the Navy, reaching the rank of LTJG. He then settled in Kansas City in 1958, and spent a long career in the banking industry. In 1998 he moved to Lawrence where he and his wife Gayle lived at the time of his death.

Bill was a kind, thoughtful gentleman in the classic sense. As an example of his kindness, when delivering Mother’s Day flowers to a woman who was blind, Bill took time out to describe to her the flowers her son had sent. He made everyone feel welcome in any social situation. He was the master of the handwritten note or card, and seemed to have made a deal with the post office so that the cards always arrived on your special day. Happy tears were also part of his response if your news was good. Above all else, Bill was a loving husband, father and grandfather.

Baseball was one of Bill’s loves. His childhood team was the Brooklyn Dodgers. In Kansas City it became the A’s and later the Royals. He even took a road trip to St Louis when we had no team here to get his fix for the game. Once at the event, Bill had the loudest whistle in the crowd. In the neighborhood, his sons could easily hear when the call for dinner came!

Bill leaves behind wife Gayle of Lawrence, son Bill III (Connie) of KCMO, son John (Ann-Michelle) of Andover, Kansas. and Leslie Lopes of Denver. “Poppy” also leaves his cherished grandchildren Elizabeth (Josh) of Brooklyn, Ali (Ricardo) of Santiago, Chile, Andrew, a US marine currently in Okinawa, Madeline of Andover, Jeff of Andover, and Keisha, a KU sophomore from Denver.

A memorial service will be held at 11:00 on Wednesday, July 26, at Plymouth Congregational Church, 925 Vermont St, Lawrence, with a gathering after.

In lieu of flowers contributions can be made to the Plymouth Congregational Church for their benevolent works.

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