Celebrating EOLONM Volunteers

By Christina Palastanga Gardiner

Sherry Burns’ journey to End of Life Options New Mexico (EOLONM) spans continents, careers, and a lifelong fascination with end-of-life care issues. Sherry came to America at just three years old from South Korea with her South Korean mother and American father, who had served in the military overseas and met Sherry’s mother there. Her father, who was Native American and Hispanic, was originally from New Mexico — a heritage that would eventually bring Sherry back to the state where her story continues today.

Sherry spent most of her professional career working for a medical software company, an experience that gave her a comprehensive understanding of medicine and healthcare systems. But her interest in end-of-life issues went beyond her career — in her spare time, she read books used in mortuary schools, drawn to questions about death and dying that most people shy away from. When she retired, Sherry considered becoming a funeral director. Instead, she chose to volunteer at an in-patient hospice and with No One Dies Alone, sitting with patients in their final hours so they would not be alone.

Then the COVID-19 pandemic arrived, and with it, a painful new reality: dying patients who could not be reached or comforted in the way they once could. That experience was a turning point for Sherry. She enrolled in the University of Vermont Medical School’s Death Doula Program and, in 2021, began her own death doula practice in Santa Fe.

Sherry joined EOLONM as a client support team member in 2022, a time when bedside support during ingestions was still rare. She learned a great deal from the experience of Mary Kay Brady, and by 2023, at Marykay’s request, Sherry became the Client Support Committee Chair. Not long after, Marykay and Barak Wolff asked if she had interest in joining the EOLONM Board.

Sherry’s commitment extends beyond direct client support into advocacy. She testified before a New Mexico House committee on the state's Psilocybin Bill regarding terminal anxiety and currently serves on a working group for Senator Liz Stefanics’ proposed bill on natural organic reduction, working to expand environmentally sound body disposition options available to people at the end of life.

Sherry brings her deep expertise and genuine passion for end-of-life care to everything she does for EOLONM. We are so grateful for her dedication and commitment to our work and our mission.