They met at a ball.
And it was love in the first round.
Not because of Larry Harvey’s moves on the dance floor, mind you. After all, Sheri Treichel, his beloved wife of 53 years, said, “Larry had two left feet.”
Despite this, he quickly asked her out on a date after that memorable first encounter on the dance floor of an amusement park on the shores of Lake Michigan. His family did their research.
And though both of their dads worked at the same creamery in the Chicago suburb of Highland Park and didn’t even get along very well, a pal of his dad’s gave the awkward dancer “high marks,” and Larry and Sheri were an immediate match.
“We got to know each other and he still wanted to marry me,” Sheri Harvey joked. She is now a feisty 79-year-old widow.
Harvey’s marriage was a love affair that lasted until they moved to South Carolina and Larry lost a kidney and battled four bouts of colon and kidney cancer before finally dying of the disease in June 2016 at the age of 76.
Since her death, Sheri Harvey moved to Austin to be close to their only child, Scott, but it was a calamitous time for the Harveys. They are among 11 families who are part of Statesman’s annual Season for Caring program, which first helps featured families and then hundreds more through local nonprofits. The Harveys were nominated by AGE of Central Texas, a nonprofit that helps seniors and their caregivers.
Read more:Season for Caring, Sheri Harvey: Chronic pain, diabetes and debt made senior years difficult
Scott Harvey, 52, lost almost all of his property income for two years during the pandemic. They now have medical bills and other arrears totaling over $20,000.
Sheri Harvey suffers from chronic back pain due to severe spinal arthritis and diabetes. She has had major shoulder and ankle operations and has been battling back pain since she was 18.
Sheri Harvey has kept her spirit positive despite shuttling between four different care facilities that she can barely afford. She needs help with housing and getting around to doctors and pain specialists. Scott Harvey, who was recently evicted and now lives in a tiny Airbnb, needs a safer home for himself.
Through it all, Sheri Harvey maintained a strong attitude and a will to persevere. She remains carried by the devotion of her son and her sincere memories of her husband.
“He was the most wonderful man you could ever have,” Sheri Harvey said of her husband. “He was the joker in our group. He was funny and he would do anything for me. If I asked him to stand on his head in the corner, he would do it for me.
Larry Harvey spent some time in the military, worked in a grocery store, and eventually found his calling in the savings and loans business. After leaving that job, he and Sheri visited friends in South Carolina and moved there, where she became a Clemson University administrator at the career center and he eventually became a regional manager. They both retired on the same day.
“They went for a tour out there in the foothills of Appalachia, which is just beautiful,” Scott Harvey said. “They fell in love with the place.”
Learn more:How to Help Families with the Statesman Season for Caring Program
The couple took regular vacations, never went on a cruise they didn’t like, and Sheri struggled to plan her trips to London, Quebec, Scotland, Paris and Hawaii, which was his all-time favorite getaway. She and several of her high school girlfriends even snuck on a Caribbean cruise.
“We had some unforgettable times in Alaska,” Sheri said of the couple’s trip there. “We have seen it all. Whales, you name it. But I was just in awe when we went to Hawaii. It was so majestic.
She meticulously detailed each adventure and chronicled them all in scrapbooks she remembers fondly.
“We were always taking vacations and going somewhere,” she said with a glint in her eye.
Now mother and son need help to live in safe accommodation. They also need help with managing geriatric care, legal advice on evictions and a financial advisor.
Sheri needs new clothes. The community has started to make some of their wishes come true, including some incontinence products, probiotics, and a foldable electric scooter. Sheri still needs a collapsible wheelchair and a collapsible walker.
Sheri and Scott Harvey love to read and have many books on their Amazon Wish List as well as a neck lamp.
To learn more about the Harvey family or to make a donation to their wish listcontact AGE of Central Texas, 512-649-2211, ageofcentraltx.org.
Find the daily coupon in printed version on Page 2B or go to statesman.com/seasonforcaring.
Until Christmas Day, $500,000 in donations will be matched by the Sheth family.
P. Terry’s Giving Back Day, with all proceeds going to Season for Caring, takes place today.
The Driskill Hotel Cookies for Caring Cookie Tins are for sale at explorestock.com/thedriskillaustin.
Make a donation:Use the form below or click here: https://statesmansfc.kimbia.com/statesmanseasonforcaring.
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