Eloise Sherman, a woman who spent her life working for Lakewood and literacy, died last month of cancer at the age of 85.
Known as “Miss Lakewood” to many neighborhood residents, Sherman was one of the founding members of the Lakewood Chamber of Commerce (called the Skillman Business Association when it was formed in 1961) and was president of the organization from 1986 until she retired last spring.
She also founded Lakewood Library Friends and the Dallas chapter of the Literacy Volunteers of America. In 1989, she was given a seat on the Dallas Library Board, which she retired from in June.
“She was somebody who didn’t take ‘no’ for an answer,” says Rick Bentley, a long-time friend of Sherman’s.
“She could sell the vision she had to other people. Before you knew what you were doing, you were doing what she wanted you to do. She had the ability great leaders have.”
Bentley grew up across the street from Sherman, who lived on Sudbury, and worked for and with her since he was a child.
His first job for Sherman was helping her run a Cub Scout troop, which she started for her son, Bob. Bentley was a Boy Scout at the time.
Since then, he has served as chairman of the Lakewood Chamber and is currently on its board, all because of Sherman’s encouragement, he says.
“She wanted Lakewood to be the best Dallas has to offer,” Bentley says. “I don’t think she ever thought there was another part of town.”
Lakewood is where Sherman grew up, raised a family and ran a business with her late husband – a hobby shop she sold several years ago.
She was a key figure in building Abrams Parkway, an effort undertaken to make Lakewood Shopping Center a thriving economic center for our neighborhood.
“Eloise gave not just a 40-hour week to East Dallas, but her life,” says Lillian Bradshaw, a friend of Sherman’s for more than 20 years.
Sherman also gave a lot to the libraries.
She was as dedicated to literacy as she was to the community, says Bradshaw, president of the Friends of the Dallas Public Library.
“She cared about people, and she cared about education,” Bradshaw says. “She believed everyone had the right to learn to read and to make out of themselves the best they could be.
“She worked her heart out for whatever appeared to be good. There was a determination in that gal that would be hard to measure.”
One event that especially pleased Sherman was the Lakewood Chamber’s annual Christmas party to benefit low-income families, Bradshaw says.
Members of the chamber each year collect toys, clothes and food, then donate the goods to those who need them.
“Eloise would stand in her office with the stuff all around her, and it would make her happy,” Bradshaw says.
“She was a woman who wanted to give. She gave to this City, to Lakewood, to her friends and to her family.”
