The Coshocton County Beacon April 17, 2019 - Page 25

Shaw shares story at cancer survivor and caregiver dinner
By Mark Fortune
[e-mail]
COSHOCTON - Cancer survivors, caregivers and loved
ones gathered at the Lake Park Pavilion on a beautiful
April 11 spring evening to celebrate, encourage and share
with friends and family. Sheri Shaw was the speaker and
following a delicious meal served by the folks of Keene
United Methodist Church, she was introduced by Amber
Goddard, Relay for Life event lead.
Shaw told the large crowd of survivors and caregivers,
“Th is year is a little diff erent for me. I’ve been chosen as the
Grand Marshall at this year’s Coshocton County Relay for
Life. I can’t begin to express what an honor this is for me.
My journey with cancer began in 2003 when my mother
was diagnosed with infl ammatory breast cancer which is
a triple negative breast cancer. It’s very aggressive.
“My childhood friend came to me two and a half weeks
before Relay was going to start and said, ‘Let’s do Relay
for your mom this year’. I said, ‘Never done it, I don’t
think we can do this.’ She said, ‘Yeh, we can.’ At fi rst I said
there’s no way, it’s not going to happen - guess what, we
did it and what a success we had. Our fi rst year, in two
and a half weeks, our team raised $9,326.14. All through
friends, family, my mom’s friends and family.
“Th en 2004 rolls around and it’s Relay time again. Un-
fortunately my mom did not make it that year - she died
three weeks before Relay. We still went, we still did Relay,
because I know that is what she would have wanted us to
do. We pushed through and raised close to $7,000 again.
It was tough being there and trying to be strong without
my mom being there. But we did it. Th at brings me to
where I am today.
“My journey with cancer began in August of 2013. It
struck a little closer to home when it struck me. I’ll never
forget the day the doctor walked into the room and told
my husband and I, ‘It’s cancer.’ It’s something you never
forget - you try to deal with it and you move on.
“First you think, I can’t do this - there’s just no way -
and there were times I would yell at God and yell why
Mark Fortune | Beacon
Cancer survivor Sheri Shaw was the featured speaker
at the annual Cancer Survivor & Caregiver dinner held
at Lake Park Pavilion in Coshocton on Thursday evening,
April 11. Shaw will be the Grand Marshall at this year’s
Coshocton County Relay for Life, to be held Friday and
Saturday, May 10 and 11 at the fairgrounds.
me? I have three sons and all I wanted to do was to see
those three get married and have a family and give me
some grandkids. So I asked God, please, just let me have
at least one son get married. Well, I’ve seen all three of
them get married and I’ve been blessed with a beautiful
granddaughter and another one on the way.
“I went through the chemo treatments and all the
eff ects of it - losing my hair, losing the eyelashes. Th e sick-
ness, the aches and pains and so on. I’ve been through
countless surgeries; my tenth surgery is scheduled for
May 15. My cancer has shown up in the colon, it’s shown
up in the stomach lining and it’s shown up in the breast.
Over the past fi ve and a half year’s I have had the best
support team that anyone can ask for.
“My entire family, each and every one of them, has
been there in so many diff erent ways. My rock has been
my husband Shawn. He has been there every step of the
way, from taking me to doctor’s appointments in Colum-
bus, sitting with me through chemo for eight hours each
time and making sure I got home to bed afterwards.
“He’s even made sure to tell me that I look beautiful
even when I had no hair. I sit up at night wondering when
it will ever end. But every day that my feet hit the fl oor I
thank God for another day. I can’t tell you that this jour-
ney has been easy for me or for my family by any means.
But I can tell you that without the love, the support and
caring of everyone who did and is still standing beside of
me, I couldn’t have done it without them.
“My message to each and every one of you is, it’s never
easy when cancer enters your life personally. But life
after the diagnosis is never the same. You must always
remember, you are braver than you think, stronger than
you seem and loved more than you know. But there’s one
thing that I remember being told by a special friend of
mine, Jim Eckelberry, never give up. Th ank you.”
Chestnut Ridge entertained the survivors, caregivers,
families and friends before dinner and following Sheri
Shaw’s speaking.
Tracy Barnhouse, ACS Staff Partner said, “I love seeing
everyone come out tonight. I think we had the fullest
room tonight that we’ve had in the four or fi ve years. We
love seeing everyone come out and support each other. I
know people look forward to this. Sheri is a strong wom-
an and we appreciate her speaking tonight and every-
thing she and her family do for Relay. I can’t say enough
about the Keene United Methodist Church and the meal
- they do this every year as a donation and we appreciate
them so much.
“Our committee up here works so hard - I just love
them all - they will start planning for next year’s Relay as
soon as this year is over. We appreciate Chestnut Ridge
coming every year and playing for us.”
McMorrow is proud to be from Coshocton
Staff | Beacon
COSHOCTON – Elizabeth “Liz” McMorrow always knew she wanted
to settle down in Coshocton.
“I like the small town and love being close to my family,” she
said.
McMorrow was born and raised in Coshocton, outside of Ros-
coe, in a home built by her father.
“I grew up taking hikes and loving the outdoors,” she said “My
parents Dave and Jacque Wagner own a small business in town
and taught my sister Erin and I much about work ethic and com-
mitment.”
While growing up in Coshocton, McMorrow participated in var-
ious sports, her church youth group and was active in 4-H, taking
goat and hog projects and participating in the public speaking
program. She also was the junior fair queen her senior year of high
school and the 2003 Coshocton Canal Festival Queen.
After high school, McMorrow went to Ohio University – Zanes-
Contributed | Beacon ville, where she earned her bachelor’s in early childhood educa-
tion with a reading endorsement. She also has a master’s from
Elizabeth “Liz” McMorrow was born and
raised in Coshocton County and now teach- Muskingum University in the area of education with a fourth and
fi fth grade endorsement.
es at Coshocton Elementary School. Her
“I have wanted to become a teacher since third grade when I
family includes husband Zach and children
had one of the greatest teachers, Mrs. Valda Dawson at Conesville
Asher, Olivia and Lillian.
APRIL 17, 2019
www.coshoctonbeacontoday.com
Elementary,” McMorrow said. “Mrs. Dawson was very caring and
compassionate. She had a way of setting high expectations but
giving school a fun learning environment.”
McMorrow now works for Coshocton City Schools. She spent the
last eight years teaching kindergarten and is currently in her fi rst
year as a title one reading teacher. McMorrow also is the volunteer
children’s director at the Coshocton Christian Tabernacle where
she organizes the children’s activities including Sunday morning
programs and the midweek program called Kidstuf.
“Children are my passion,” she said. “Th eir zest for life and in-
nocence make working with them so fun. At church, I love being
able to instill the most important values children will need in life,
knowing God loves them and how to live a life with Him.”
Liz is married to Zach McMorrow, who also was born and raised
in Coshocton. Th ey have three children, Lillian, Olivia and Asher
and live outside of Roscoe in a home built by Liz’s dad and Zach.
“Coshocton is my hometown and there are many things I love
about this town,” Liz said. “Th e one thing I think that sticks out
most is the sense of community. Th e way this town can rally
around and support someone or a cause is astounding. Th is com-
munity is extremely giving and compassionate. We are proud to
be part of such a community.”
Editor’s note: Th e Beacon is working with the Coshocton County Cham-
ber of Commerce to highlight young professionals in the community.
THE BEACON 25