Sherryjane (Sherry Beacom-Cooke:  

If you want to reach me, I am under Sherryjane Cooke (my real name) on Facebook and Twitter and I rarely visit Classmates...sorry. Gosh, I always said I would live in Paris and never League City. But here I find myself married to my high school love, Larry Cooke, from Dickinson, who is also my best friend, and not in Paris but League City since 1964. I now have a dream job as a contract journalist and critic - Contributing Journalist for AXS.com Entertainment, a part of AEG Entertainment, AEG is one of the leading sports and entertainment presenters in the world. Before the Examiner.com closed business, I wrote three columns - National Country Music Examiner and Texas Country Music Examiner in most all major Texas cities, reviewing and writing about all things music, venues and events. I remember the day that Mr. Parr told me I would never be a writer...and I AM just that,.. and a damned good one! I've been nominated by for the Austin American Statesman's Award for Best in Social Media and Journalism. So don't let people from the past color you view of what you can be. I just chalk his remark to his disdain my girls' "hooked on surfing" group missing school at any time when the waves were just right - but still making A's in his advanced English Class. lol I also wrote a column on National Near Death Experiences, prior to Examiner.com closing. (I actually had an NDE at 17, when I, Janie Birsner and Valerie Vernier, coming back from surfing, were cut off at the League City exit (I-45) by a huge black Cadillac. Even though Janie swerved to avoid the cadi, the front tire blew - sending us and the van end rolling over and over on its sides and then hitting a sign - flipped end over end three times. Just as this happened, I found myself drifting to somewhere else...yep, the tunnel. What a life changing experience - see the full description below.) I have three grown kids, Shawn, Stephen and Summer, who is in Hollywood, LA recruited by AMDA(American Musical and Dramatic Academy,) graduated with her BFA in Film/Acting and has already been in short films and is hilariously funny, like a Jenny McCarthy (but now, singing is her passion and she's an awesome singer/songwriter and just cut her first song video) She carries around her guitar case on flights and people always think she's Taylor Swift...she has that look and charisma. She is also involved with LA's Mosaic Church and for a while, the Hollywood Playground of Dreams for children of stars' kids to those who may not have a mentor or can even be living below poverty level. She is so bubbly and loves kids so much - teaches singing, guitar and other things to help a child's talent bloom. She recently traveled to Kenya to help build a music school for a small village(before the 2014 Ebola outbreak, thank God,) The trip was life changing for her - she appreciates all she has. She even filmed much of the trip and had the kids sing to us on video! Currently, beside her singing career, she is in a ministry group, visiting and helping the homeless along LA's Skid Row. My oldest son, Shawn lives in Florida and is a draftsman and a website designer master - he is also a photographer and is in ministry at his church (just couldn't switch him back to Catholic!) He's married to beautiful Mandy (a wonderful teacher) who used to be either Chip or Dale in Disney World, but they met at a school of theology in Kississime, Florida. At first it was hard explaining that my son was married to a little chipmunk, but hey, they got over it. lol They have two beautiful sons, James and Nathan. The loves of my life! Stephen, my youngest son, was at first my payback for all the things a Catholic kid shouldn't do! But he now has a very successful roofing company and is married to Amber who has two beautiful girls, Natalie and Megan. He has a son Colton, and then Bentley and Astin by Amber. Still trying to get the grand-kids in the backyard with the rubber pool, bible and the babies, slyly baptizing them. lol I was told I was stuck up during high school, but so mistaken for my shyness, not the former. Rushing through a two year stint in nursing school (27 hours a semester,) standing in on surgeries and amazed at how those surgeons can hold us alive while our bodies are opened, was incredible. After our class found out we had never been a member of the Student Nurses Association, being turned away at the doors of a convention in Houston, we immediately went to the dean, knowing our $60 a semester to belong to the National SNA, was going elsewhere since the School of Nursing at Alvin was opened, his investigation led us to the evil witch who had been pocketing the money for over 20 years. She tried to deny, but they found her out. The gold Cadillac and furs were a hint. She hated anyone of color, made remarks that would have put her in jail for discrimination and theft, and you were not allowed makeup or anything that did not meet her 1940 standards. You were not even supposed to DATE. God forbid. We hid around corners from her, lest she decided you were the target of the day. She only paid back a portion to the nurses long ago graduated, erased many of the new student records (was told this by a secret friend in records), and finally to escape jail or as justice might have it, she ended up in a mental institution. She may have even died there. So, I went after my first love, art, and found an ad agency I loved. But, after 3 years, I began to see that our clients were calling me specifically. Why couldn't I do this myself??? So, I created my own agency (pulled Larry in to it) and our clients ended up to be international, national and U.S and locally based. That led to more prestigious things, and entertainment production, publicity and management became our most profitable. My husband and I started our full-service ad agency on a shoestring and just us. Before I knew it - 15 years and 20 employees later, and a $1,7500,000 agency billings it was also beginning to be affected by the '80's oil crunch. But we were still growing. After 14 years of owning our ad agency in Clear Lake, and working with and producing events in the (now gone) AstroHall with entertainers like Ray Charles, Alabama, Hank Williams, Jr., Tammy Wynette, Merle Haggard, the Mandrell's and so many more and multiple trips to Los ...Expand for more