Retired registered nurse Sherry Soper finds satisfaction in diversity.
She likes many things – traveling, helping others, decorating her home for the holidays.
Soper grew up in Muskogee and earned her nursing degree at Bacone College. She worked at Muskogee Regional Medical Center, then Three Rivers Surgery Center. She served two terms as president of the East Central Medical Alliance and served on the state health promotion board for the Oklahoma State Medical Association.
She and her husband Michael moved into their contemporary home in the 1990s. She said the kitchen is her favorite room because she likes to look out into the backyard. Soper said she also enjoys hosting parties for her extended family and holiday visitors.
Foreign countries and travel are another interest. The family hosted foreign exchange students. A bride is a native of Korea; another is originally from Kurdistan, who now lives in Sweden.
Soper and friends have visited places such as Ireland and Cuba. They are planning a trip in April to the Azores, then to France, then to Amsterdam.
She has also traveled all over the country. She recalled following her son Preston when he played football at the University of Tulsa.
“I loved that he played because we got to go to all these big stadiums, Ohio State, Cincinnati,” she said. “Wherever he played, I flew there and saw different cities.”
Soper recently went with friend Alexis Nelson to Andersonville Prison National Historic Site in Georgia. There they found the two graves of the ancestors.
“I didn’t know I had a great-grandfather who died in the Andersonville prison, so we went down there,” Soper said. “When we got down there, the museum was so excited that they had relatives of someone who was buried there.”
Soper credits Nelson with getting her involved with the Daughters of the American Revolution, as well as the Muskogee Presbyterian Church of Joy.
House dressed for the holidays
Sherry Soper loves to decorate her mid-century home for the holidays.
She recalled when her home was on the home tour benefiting the Kelly B. Todd Cerebral Palsy and Neuro-muscular Foundation in the 1990s. Preparing the home for the tour posed several challenges.
“When I was on the house tour, the bathroom had a leak in the shower on the other side of a wall,” she said, adding that a friend got wallpaper to cover the leak.
Then a drip pan under the fridge came out.
“Everything was pulled into the living room when it was a week before the home tour,” she said. “It ended okay.”
Soper still decorates the house like he’s on a house tour. Garlands wrapped around a banister that goes down.
Family Christmas stockings and green wallpaper adorn her tall stone fireplace. The grandchildren’s socks are at the bottom. Children are on the second level. Her socks and her husband’s are hanging from a large wreath.
“My mom said, ‘Why isn’t mine up there?’ So I ordered another one to put in the middle,” she said.
Christmas animals and colorful boxes line the ledges under the cathedral ceiling.
“The boys were little, they thought those boxes were their Christmas presents,” she said.
Lover of travel, of meetings with others
Soper has many reasons why he likes to go to other countries.
“Just seeing the country — it’s so different — and meeting the people,” she said.
She used her Kurdish daughter-in-law, who lives in Sweden, as an example.
“Kurdish people are loving people. She has the warmest family,” she said. “The Kurdish people are probably the most beloved people. I love her family. They open their arms to anyone.”
She remembers visiting Ireland with some friends and her son, who was in college,” she said. “We were there on the coldest St. Patrick’s Day ever. We freeze to death. We actually stayed in the bar, it was too cold. I don’t like beer.”
Soper remembered how friendly the Irish were.
“The only thing I ever got tired of in Ireland was potatoes,” she said. “When they ate food. they had their meat, and then they had mashed potatoes, then they had fries, then they had baked. They had three types of potatoes with every meal. And I thought I’d be very happy not to eat potatoes when we got back to the states.”
She also visited Cuba with Nelson and friends from First Baptist Church.
“I really like the people there,” she said. “People should go down there and see how they live. I felt so sorry for them.”
The joy of giving reward
Soper also finds joy in helping children in the Joy of Giving Shoppe.
Just making the kids happy,” she said. “They’re happy to be able to give something back to their parents.”
She said Nelson, a church member, encouraged her to get involved nearly eight years ago. The store brings selected children from low-income families to “shop” for their parents’ gifts. It contains a variety of items that children can give to their mothers and fathers.
Soper said she and Nelson buy gifts ahead of time.
Children wrap their presents, then enjoy punch and cookies, Soper said.
“I remember seeing these kids and thinking maybe they’re hungry. So a few years ago, we started making sandwiches and offering sandwiches,” she said.
Soper helped make about 200 finger sandwiches the day before the store. She said one task she wouldn’t do is wrapping presents.
“I’m more in charge of the food,” she said, adding that her mother likes to help youngsters pick out gifts at the “store.”
On the morning of the event, she stays busy keeping the punch, cookies and sandwiches on hand.
“The kids are so sweet and they’re so grateful,” Soper said. “They are very gracious about what you give them.”
P and A
HOW DID YOU COME FROM MUSKOGEE TO OKIE?
“My dad moved here. He worked for the Oklahoma Department of Transportation. He moved here when I was 4 years old.
WHAT DO YOU LIKE MOST ABOUT MUSKOGEE?
“The size and the family, the sense of home. It’s quite small, you know almost everyone in town.”
WHAT WILL MAKE MUSKOGEE A BETTER PLACE TO LIVE?
“Shopping. People have to go somewhere else. I’m very sorry and very disappointed that the mall closed because you have to go to Tulsa to shop. And you won’t have people wanting to move to Muskogee if you don’t shop.”
WHO PERSON IN MUSKOGEE DO YOU ADMIRATE MOST?
“My dad. He died when I was 30. He was just a great dad. He hardly raised his voice. You never heard a curse word come out of his mouth. He was just a good man Godly and kept us in church. He was just a good, loving, very attentive father. He served in World War II.”
WHAT IS THE MOST MEMORABLE THING TO HAPPEN IN MUSKOGEE?
“To have my children. To have my babies.”
WHAT DO YOU DO IN YOUR FREE TIME?
“Volunteer with the Joy of Giving. Volunteer with the Veterans Breakfast, in association with the Salvation Army. Travel.”
HOW WOULD YOU SUM UP MUSKOGEE IN 25 WORDS OR LESS?
“We have a great mayor. I’m very impressed with him. He’s very active. He’s really trying hard to make this a better place.”
