Sherril Kay, daughter of Walter and Amanda Christina (Grau) Martens, was born February 22, 1944, in Manning, Iowa. She attended school in Manning and graduated with the Manning High School Class of 1962.

On February 8, 1963 Sherril was united in marriage with Richard Carl Heller at Maryville, Missouri. Two sons were born to this union. The family made their home in Denison where Sherril worked at Cronk's Cafe and then at Red's Cafe in Harlan. Sherril and the boys then moved to Manning where she worked at the Manning Plaza Nursing Home as a cook. In the early 1970s, they relocated to Audubon where she worked at the Eve-N-I. Even though Sherril retired due to poor health in 1989, she still cooked, baked and canned for her neighbors and friends, Sherril enjoyed visiting with friends and spending time with her dog Frannie. She touched many people and helped many kids.

On Saturday, June 7, 2003, Sherril died unexpectedly at Jennie Edmundson Hospital in Council Bluffs, Iowa, due to complication of surgery the previous week. She was 59 years, 3 months and 18 days of age.

Preceding Sherril in death are her parents, sister Loraine Slechta in 1998 and a nephew Royce Slechta in 1984.

She is survived by two sons Mike Heller and wife Shelley of Council Bluffs and Kurt Heller and wife Danial of Colorado Springs, Colorado; grandchildren: Tiffany Soll, Mathew Tice, Jessica Tice, Tiffany Tice, Christopher Evans, Nichole Heller and Andrew Heller; a brother Dean Martens and wife Judi of Pleasant Hill; brother-in-law Larry Slechta of Denison; half-sisters Judy Swenson of Aurora, Colorado, and Sally Skivvies of Kansas; a half-brother Junior Christensen of Colorado; uncle Ralph Grau and wife Theresa of Stockton, California; two aunts Bernice Crouch of Irwin and Edna Mitzel and special friend Virgil Boyens of Manilla; nieces, nephews, other relatives and friends.