“I honestly don’t know how I got so lucky.”

Jim Jungsten met Sheryl Sorem on what was supposed to be just another average workday.

“I was doing a presentation for my company in Minneapolis at the airport Hilton, where Sheryl was the Director of Sales at the time. When she walked into the room (late), I knew right then that this was “the one.” Stunningly beautiful and sassy 😊.

Sheryl Sorem was born in Arkansas, raised in Kansas City and lived in the greater Minneapolis region for a large portion of her life before that fateful meeting with Jim, which brought her eventually to live in Sacramento, CA.

“Sheryl’s capacity for love was like something I’ve never experienced, as both a recipient and a witness. She truly cared for everyone. From her kids to our pets to her beloved “bonus children,” (my kids) she just emanated positivity and joy. She brought joy to my life every single day. I am beyond blessed to have called her my soulmate.”

Sheryl was diagnosed with Stage 4 colon cancer in October of 2020. After many months of radiation and chemotherapy to shrink her tumors, she underwent successful surgery in July 2021 to remove the cancer.

“The doctor was very happy with the surgery. We thought we were past the bad times, but about a month after her surgery we got a call from the surgeon; he sent a portion of Sheryl’s tumor to the Mayo Clinic for analysis, and it came back indicating Sheryl had metastatic neuroendocrine cancer. She was gone within a month.”

“I choose to focus on Sheryl’s amazing life, her indelible effect on me – not on the insidious cancer that took her far too soon.”

“We packed a lot of life into our 7 years together,” Jim shares. “We blended our families, added to our animal menagerie (Shasta and Caymus), and traveled everywhere; we soaked up the cultures of foreign countries and explored our beautiful USA in our RV.  Sheryl woke up every day HAPPY – even if I did think she was nuts for working out every day at 5 am! Sheryl’s passion for physical fitness was unprecedented. She competed in many Spartan Races and also took up boxing.”

Jim and Sheryl’s family, along with their extensive network of friends and colleagues, are raising money and awareness about NETs. Jim started a charity in Sheryl’s name called “Sheryl Strong” whose mission is ‘to advocate for those that are put into a situation of need or comfort, with little or no hope, those who don’t know their next steps and those who need someone to be Sheryl Strong.’

“We held our inaugural fundraiser this September 2022 at our golf course Northridge Country Club in Fair Oaks, CA and called it the Sheryl Sorem Scramble for Charity. We raised $15,000 dollars and shared the proceeds with NETRF and donated some funds to a club member who was recently diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma.”

“Sheryl was so selfless – she would want to spread the love and goodness around – she would be so proud.”

Jim and his family and friends are already hard at work planning The 2nd Annual Sheryl Sorem Scramble for Charity, slated for August of 2023 with a goal to raise $25,000 for NETRF.