A rare human spirit, Sherwin touched everyone who either knew him or worked with him; whether his unerring guidance or well-worn wisdom, he gave fully. Devoid of even an iota of malice or ill, he dealt with everyone with charity and tolerance and an ingrained sense of good humor that was a hallmark of his presence.

Many of his contributions, which testify to his creative leadership, have transformed the landscape of our community. The highly successful Utah Musical Theatre was his brainchild; likewise, weber studies, which in the last phase of his career he edited with such distinction, was a creation of his. The Early College Program, English as a Second Language Program, Writing Across the Curriculum, Computer-Assisted Writing Center, and the Eccles Conference Center all owe their existence to his creative vision.

The numerous honors and awards bestowed upon Sherwin bespeak of his extensive involvement and stature well beyond the pale of the university. He was the recipient of the Utah State Governor's Award in the Arts, Higher Education Administrator of the Year Award, Utah Education Association's Honor Roll Award, and the Golden Apple Award from the Ogden City School District, to mention just a scattering of awards and recognitions Sherwin received in Utah and elsewhere for a lifetime of exemplary service and contribution to public and higher education.

Perhaps what brought the utmost professional, personal, and creative satisfaction to Sherwin was his three-year tenure, from 1992-1995, as president of Deep Springs College situated on the border of California and Nevada. He left Weber State for his stint at Deep Springs to give his free-ranging spirit and poetic talent the freedom they needed to flourish and discover, in Sherwin's own words, "what it means to live with the desert's vagaries."

And flourish they did. Sherwin loved to bring order to nature and create patterns of exquisite but delicately filigreed emotions on the printed page. He imposed upon his poetry a pattern born out of a poet's sense of beauty. And for Sherwin, primal wisdom and beauty were synonymous—a poem was as much art as it was life. And Sherwin thought of life as a well-lived poem. He has left behind much to celebrate in both.

Sherwin will be missed by all of us—his family, whom he loved above all and beyond anything on earth, his wife Annette most of all, and by countless friends whose lives he touched. Sherwin is gone. We are blessed that he shared his good and generous life with us.

—Brad L. Roghaar, editor weber studies
    Kay Anderson, editorial assistant
    Kathryn MacKay, associate editor
    Michael Wutz, associate editor