Sherill Ann (Lensch) Radtke

RADTKE, Sherill Ann (Lensch), 86, passed away in Richmond, Virginia on March 3, 2023.

Born on August 21, 1936 in Sioux Falls, South Dakota to Edward and Lucille (Mannigel) Lensch, Sherill was their only daughter and the third of their four children.  The Lensch family left the snowy Midwest to join other family members in Long Beach, California in time to see the record-setting floods of 1938, Sherill’s earliest memory.

Sherill attended First Lutheran School in Long Beach for eight years, went on to Roosevelt Junior High School and Compton High School, and started a short but successful career at Allstate Insurance Company. Sherill met handsome young engineer Clayton Radtke at church. They wed in 1958 and soon welcomed four children. Sherill, Clayton and family moved to Westminster, California in 1966 and were members of King of Kings Lutheran Church in Garden Grove.

Always bursting with ideas and creativity, Sherill taught her toddlers to read, sewed her and her daughters’ clothes, and managed the girls’ group at church for more than a decade. Warm and gracious hosts, Sherill and Clayton held many family gatherings and parties over the years at their home. Sherill also enjoyed the friendly competition of a card game or Sequence, as well as Wii games (once they became available), and always showed respect to her opponents by playing to win.

Diagnosed with breast cancer at 43, Sherill proved her doctors’ survival predictions wrong, and went on to serve and support hundreds of other women with breast cancer for years through her locally known boutique, La Vail in Seal Beach.

In 2016, Sherill moved to Mechanicsville, Virginia to live with her son John and his family. Regularly watching business news, Sherill became an avid watcher of the Stock Market, predicting the Tesla bounce in the weeks before her death. Every family birthday, anniversary, holiday and special occasion was met by a greeting card and gift from Sherill. 

Sherill greeted each day with thanksgiving for God’s many blessings and prayer for His continued help and strength. She freely shared her faith with family, friends, and acquaintances, and was an inspiring example of God’s love.

Sherill is predeceased by her husband Clayton Radtke, her parents and brothers, John, James and Robert Lensch. She is survived by her four children and their spouses, Karen (Paul) Veers, Gretchen (James) Stroud, John (Jamie) Radtke and Sharon (Brad) Ragner, fifteen grandchildren and spouses, three great-grandchildren and three sisters-in-law (Kay and Jane Lensch and Ruth Bargenquast).

Donations in Sherill’s name may be sent to King of Kings Lutheran Church in Garden Grove and Fox Valley Lutheran High School in Appleton, Wisconsin. In Sherill’s memory, pop open a cold Diet Coke, send a card to someone you love, play to win, give yourself plenty of time at the airport, and check the expiration dates on your cans of food. 

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