In remembrance of a true Betty.
I first met Sherrille Harvey two years ago under unfortunate circumstances when I attended the funeral of my love’s father. His father was a pioneer on the Harley-Davidson front for the North Texas area. He opened his first dealership in Ft. Worth in 1967 and the attendees to the funeral were a cast of characters you’d only see in the movies. Sherille was one of those.
If I had to describe her, I’d say she is a combination of Gemma Teller from Sons of Anarchy, mostly because of the bedazzling, and Chrissy Snow from Three’s Company because she would describe herself as silly. But I like silly. She was older but still the ultimate biker babe. Unlike Gemma Teller, she never would have ridden “bitch” on a bike. She drove or else she didn’t go. Simple as that.
A few days after the funeral, my love, his beautiful sister and her equally beautiful wife, and I all went to their “Uncle” Dave’s house. Sherille greeted us as the ever-gracious hostess of the house and showed us around and bubblingly made sure we had drinks in our hands while they prepared dinner. She and Uncle Dave were adorable together. He is also the epitome of the biker guy. I loved them together. I asked how long they had been married.
Well, they weren’t married. Not only that they had just begun dating after the funeral and she had already moved into his house. I laughed at my silly assumptions. From that exact moment, I was rooting for them all the way. We all took bets on how long it would last. I just knew it would. I think we all knew it would.
And it did for these two glorious years until this past weekend Sherille lost her life in a terrible car accident. My heart hurts.
Recently, Sherrille sent some items and clothing to me after my beloved visited Uncle Dave and Sherrille in Oklahoma. She wanted me to have these different Harley shirts since she counts me as a “Harley girl” now, even though I rather like riding bitch. She said she was saving these things to be passed on to the “right” person. It included a necklace that she said she wore through 21 states and for over 4,000 miles through Canada. She said it kept her safe. And she ended by saying that she was so glad my guy is with me, she’s known him most of his entire life, because she said he always looks happy. What a blessing from someone I barely knew but instantly loved.
Sherille was the perfect example of a Betty and what I strive to write about and be. She blazed trails most women never even think about blazing. She was fearless. She was also a vulnerable soul who desperately wanted to be loved. I think she found that in Uncle Dave.
I loved her feisty spirit and zest for life. So many people go their entire lives without ever truly living. Sherrille lived! She was such a fun, crazy, wild, loving, beautiful soul. I’ll never forget that night we had dinner with them and Sherille was bragging about what a hottie her David was and how good he looks especially for his age. It was the kind of awkward moment when you know your parents are going to start talking about their sex lives and all you want to do is run. The boys were outside and I was right. She talked about how great their sex life was but that she looked pretty damn good too. Right then, she lifted up her shirt and said, “Look how great my tits look!”
I don’t even know what to do in moments like that. But I laughed. Talk about catching you off guard. We girls were definitely caught off guard. That was Sherrille and I love it. I loved her spirit of basically not giving two-fucks at what we thought. Hey, here’s my boobs, would you like some more wine?
She was as beautiful on the inside as she was on the out and gone from this world way too soon. I can tell you this. The world is a better place because Sherrille Harvey has been a part of it.
Sherrille, thank you for the honor of the necklace. I promise to take good care of it and see how many more states I can take it to. I hope wherever you are, you’re on a Harley and the wind is in your beautiful blond hair, still blazing new trails. You will be missed.