She devoted much of her life to eradicating diseases, such as pellagra and diphtheria, which plagued the poor and marginalized communities of South Carolina.
Her father, John Washington Sheriff, was a retail lumberman, and her mother a woman of “medical and educational philanthropy.”[2] From a young age, she envisioned becoming a doctor, taking on this role when caring for her family's chickens, and playing with her dolls.
[4] Sheriff then received an invitation from the American Women's Hospitals Service to direct a unit in the Piedmont area of South Carolina, marking the beginning of her career in public health.
As the Depression set in, Pellagra, a deficiency disease characterized by diarrhea, dermatitis, dementia, and death, hit the poor Piedmont mill villages of South Carolina.
During this time, Sheriff focused on her efforts on eliminating this disease and providing aid to working mothers through a “healthmobile,” a mobile clinic where she demonstrated healthy cooking practices, instructed women how to properly can fruits and vegetables, and examined the sick.
She was on the forefront of establishing the first family planning clinic in the United States that was affiliated with a county health department.