Mrs. Cheryl Adele Martin Martin-St. Jules

Mrs. Cheryl Adele Martin-St. Jules was a modest woman, quiet and observant in her ways. She was trustworthy and traditional in her approach to her life and in her relationships. She was tough-minded with the kind of “stick to it” attitude that earned the respect of all who knew her. She was also a woman who was meticulous, carefully disciplined, and orderly in virtually everything she undertook. Realistic about life, she was always at the ready, prepared to take on responsibility.

       Her parents were Romeo and Cecile Martin. Cheryl was raised in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. She was brought up to be self-confident and dependable. These were traits that would serve her well throughout her life.

      Growing up in the Martin household was a bit different than most homes. There were good times to be had, but just as often there was a fair share of challenges as well. However, Cheryl was able to work through the usual family problems when they appeared, and she was the one person in the family who seemed able to keep the stress at bay. Cheryl was raised with one. She had one younger sister Ginette. Cheryl was constantly involved in activities with her sister. Cheryl and Ginette may have had the typical rivalries while growing up but Cheryl was always consistently loyal to her family.

      As a young child, Cheryl was never someone who needed to be the center of attention. She wasn’t pushy and never forced her way into games or other activities. Cheryl developed a variety of interests, though, and the things she enjoyed doing she did well. She was always curious about the world around her and was often eager to explore it. Cheryl took part in swimming and skiing. In her spare time she liked to play music and sew. However, what Cheryl enjoyed most was simply playing and spending time with her many friends.

      While her teachers and even her friends generally thought of Cheryl as being a serious person, she managed to have a pretty good time in high school as she made that critical transition from adolescence to adulthood. She graduated from Mount St. Joseph in 1965. She enjoyed some courses more than others, having favorite classes and teachers. Her favorite class in high school was music. She was an honor student. Cheryl was a very logical person who enjoyed learning about factual information. Using her exceptional memory, she was able to learn much through observation. Cheryl always seemed to have a command of the facts and was able to make it seem as though she could easily master any problem that might be presented to her.

      College life brought with it a new set of challenges, but Cheryl handled them well. Being a critical thinker who always remained intellectually independent, Cheryl was able to focus on the task at hand in order to complete her class work. She seemed to thrive on college reading assignments, something that often bogged down her classmates. Cheryl was able to read the material and retain the information in a way that impressed her fellow classmates. The ability to efficiently complete the task at hand was a skill that served Cheryl well during her college experience. She earned her degree in music at Ottawa University. She also pursued graduate school, earning her teaching certificate.

      Always considered to be a solid friend, Cheryl was fortunate to have numerous acquaintances and several very close friends during her life. Since she disliked making generalizations about people and preferred to draw her own conclusions based on direct observation, Cheryl was able to see beneath the surface of relationships and became a true friend to those who knew her. She was committed to her friends and valued the trust she placed in them. It was not uncommon for Cheryl to go beyond the call of duty for others, and friends frequently sought her out for advice because she had a knack for coming up with practical solutions to any type of dilemma. Later in life, she became friends with Diane Deschenes.

      Cheryl Martin-St. Jules was compassionate and devoted to her husband, Bill. Cheryl held endearing, traditional values about marriage and family life. She took the responsibility of marriage to heart, giving it her total commitment. She was a source of strength to Bill and using her gifts at nurturing one-on-one relationships, she worked hard to make her new family happy.

      Cheryl brought the same traditional values in her marriage to bear on how she raised her children. She was a good parent to them, always firm yet fair in her dealings. She would always listen carefully and think things through before she acted, even when it was an adverse situation. Cheryl was also a walking schedule, always seeming to know what everyone in the family needed to do, where they needed to be and when they needed to be there. Cheryl was blessed with two children and two step children, Lisa and Sean and her step children Dawne and Billy. They were also blessed with eleven grandchildren, Sarah, Mathew, Julia, Nicholas, Austin, Natasha, Christopher, Elissa, Kayle, Liam and Grace.

      Cheryl greatly enjoyed what she did for a living. She was a hard worker who expected the same in return from her co-workers. She was skilled at working effectively in small groups and in one-on-one situations as well as handling solo assignments efficiently. Cheryl enjoyed dealing with concrete ideas and could penetrate any amount of fuzzy information to reach the essential facts. Always able to attend to the task at hand, Cheryl was excellent at meeting deadlines. She was an efficient worker, one who paid careful attention to detail, allowing sufficient time to complete one task before moving on to the next. Her primary occupation was school teacher. She was employed for 35 years with the Algoma District Board.. Cheryl worked hard to be a team player, doing what was necessary in order to get the job done.

      Cheryl liked to experience things first-hand as well as learn about them. This trait carried over into her hobbies, where she was very methodical in how she organized her activities and categorized things. Since she enjoyed her private time, Cheryl always tried to allocate a specific time for working on her hobbies. Her favorite pursuits were bowling and skiing and watching her grandson Nick play hockey. Cheryl was content to enjoy her hobbies alone but was also willing to share her interests with others.

      Cheryl found pleasure in sports. Being a person who was comfortable making win/lose decisions throughout life, she could appreciate that athletes made those types of decisions in sports. She applauded those who won, and she enjoyed the statistical data and sports facts and could find herself wrapped up in those details. Recreational sports included bowling and skating and skiing. She would watch her favorite sporting events whenever she got the opportunity. Tops on her list were hockey and figure skating.

      Many organizations were grateful to have Cheryl as a member, since she always brought with her a “stick to it” attitude and a high degree of common sense. Using straightforward methods to successfully complete the job, Cheryl was a great planner who was incredibly well organized. It seemed that she was able to schedule any event or activity with ease. She always seemed to know exactly what needed to be done. Throughout her later years, Cheryl was an active member of the school board.

      As a woman who always showed great commitment to the things she believed in, it’s little wonder that Cheryl was so active in her community. Being practical and mentally disciplined, Cheryl preferred to base her decisions on first-hand experiences. Cheryl was never afraid to roll up her sleeves and dig right in. Cheryl was a member of several community groups, including serving on committees for the school board. Politically, Cheryl was involved in the liberal party.

      Cheryl was a woman who was dedicated and devoted to her faith. She was a member St. Ignace for many years. During that time she was the musician there and played the organ. She was a sympathetic woman who valued her beliefs and was willing to work tirelessly for them.

      Cheryl enjoyed traveling and taking vacations. Since she was an early starter and had a knack for planning everything, travelling with Cheryl appeared effortless. She enjoyed researching all of her examined options and applying cost-effective planning techniques. Plus, no matter where she travelled, Cheryl always had a back up plan at the ready, just in case. Her favorite vacations included Las Vegas and Florida.

      Cheryl was a lover of animals and cherished her pets. One of Cheryl’s favorites was Squire, a cocker spaniel. They were best friends for 14 years.

      When Cheryl’s retirement finally arrived in 2001, she was well prepared. She always trusted and placed value in what was logical and in the things she knew, so she was very confident in planning her retirement. She had begun the process early and had her retirement all laid out well in advance. In retirement, she found new pleasure in other jobs to keep busy as co-ordinator for Contact North. Even in retirement, Cheryl continued to stay in touch with her old friends while making plenty of new acquaintances. She was active in her new community and felt fulfilled.

      Mrs. Cheryl Adele Martin-St. Jules passed away on March 8, 2013 at sault ste marie hospital. Cheryl had an up hill battle with cancer. She is survived by husband Bill, her children Lisa, Sean, Dawne and Billy, and her grand kids Sarah, Mathew, Julia, Nicholas, Austin, Natasha, Christopher, Kayle, Elissa, Liam and Grace. Services were held at Arthur's Funeral Home. Cheryl was laid to rest in Holy Sepulchre Cemetry.

      Committment is a key word that can be used to describe the life of Mrs. Cheryl Adele Martin-St. Jules. She was committed to living the life of a good woman who was both practical and trustworthy. She was committed to the traditional values that she upheld her entire life. She committed herself to being a hard worker who expected the same effort in return from those around her. Most of all, she was committed to those she knew and loved.

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MARTIN-ST. JULES, Cheryl – With great sadness, surrounded by family on Friday, March 8, 2013. Soul mate, friend, caring and loving wife of Bill. Mama of our cocker spaniel Squire. Loving mother of Lisa Kelly (Ron) and Sean Kelly (Shannon) and stepmother of Dawne St. Jules (Jason) and Billy St. Jules (Rheanne). Devoted grandma of Sarah, Matthew, Julia, Nicholas, Austin, Natasha, Christopher, Elissa, Kayle, Liam and Grace. Meré to Ryan Gauthier. Daughter of the late Romeo and late Cecile (Tilley) Martin of Chapleau, ON. Dear sister of Ginette Immonen (Peter). Cheryl was a lifetime teacher in French Immersion at Collegiate Heights, Rosedale and F.H. Clergue and music. Friends may call at the Arthur Funeral Home & Cremation Centre on Saturday, March 16, 2013 from 9 – 11:30 am. Funeral service in the chapel at 12 noon. Monsignor Victor Amadio officiating. Interment Holy Sepulchre Cemetery. Memorial donations to the Children’s Wish Foundation would be appreciated by the family. The family would like to send a special thanks to the staff in the I.C.U. for their tender care. Expressions of sympathy may be offered at www.arthurfuneralhome.com.