Sherry Mercieca, remembered for enthusiasm, humor, dies at 51

12/31/01

''The way she pointed at people and her gestures were very funny sometimes,'' said Justine Shrider, her best friend and co-founder of the chorus. Mercieca, 51, died Saturday after a brief illness. The family has scheduled a memorial service for 6 p.m. Wednesday. Final arrangements will be announced later by Spry Funeral Home.

''She believed that it was a way to bring peace and happiness to many people,'' Shrider said. ''She considered the Huntsville Feminist Chorus her mission in life.''

A Huntsville native, Mercieca earned a bachelor's degree in both English and music and a master's degree in counseling psychology from Alabama A&M University.

Over the years Mercieca pursued many interests, but music was her passion, said Shrider.

''Since childhood, she studied voice and piano, and as a teen-ager she performed in operas and did theater work,'' she said. ''We just decided to get together and we invited people to join who were interested.''

The chorus is made up of about 45 women who perform several concerts a year.

Her husband of 31 years, Dr. Charles Mercieca, is a retired history and philosophy professor from A&M. He said Sunday night his wife's plans for much of 2002 were focused on the chorus. She became ill on Christmas Eve and died at home in her sleep, he said.

Mercieca is also survived by a daughter, Julie Mercieca of Los Angeles, and a son, Alex Mercieca of Vilseck, Germany.