Cheryl Jean Butcher

Cheryl was born in California on October 25, 1947, to Helen and Charles Butcher. She grew up very close with her sisters Ginny and Rita. Most of her early years were spent with Helen and her step-father Jim. Growing up in a military family, she moved often, including a stay at Fort Lewis, and learned early how to find her people wherever she landed. She excelled in school, trained in gymnastics for the Junior Olympics, and cheered in high school in Lawton, Oklahoma, and in college.

After earning her bachelor's degree at Oklahoma State, Cheryl came to Seattle in the early 1970s to care for her grandfather on Queen Anne. She earned her master's in Special Education at the University of Washington and taught for the Navajo Nation in the Four Corners before returning to Washington. In 1986 she was named Washington State Special Educator of the Year. She made every child feel seen and valued, and she once taught a little girl the world had written off how to read. Her students were her proudest accomplishment.

Though she never had children of her own, Cheryl was Auntie Cheryl, the Queen of Fun, to William, Eric, and Dawn Marie. She was there for every holiday, in the pool, on the sledding hill, or out trick-or-treating with them. She treasured trips to Cannon Beach, Lake Tahoe, and Europe with family.

In Woodinville and Monroe she tended roses and hydrangeas, loved classical music and beautiful art, and was known to the neighborhood dogs as the Cookie Lady. She had a serving heart and was always asking, "How can I help?" She cared for her sister Ginny in her final years.

Cheryl loved time with family whether here in the Seattle area, Oklahoma, Lake Tahoe or in Wisconsin where her sister Rita and her husband Norm, their daughter Dawn Marie and husband Dave Gregor, their two daughters Samantha and Allison live.

She loved to eat out with and visit with friends. One of her favorite foods was a cheeseburger, which she got teased about a lot. She loved to help out and could not sit idle if there was a big party or dinner planned. While she mostly hosted people by going out to eat, she was a huge help, when others hosted big dinners or holiday meals, which was very frequently in her extended family.

She is survived by brother-in-law Norman Thays, her niece Dawn Marie and Dave Gregor, with great nieces Samantha and Allison.

She also leaves behind cousins Cathy & Mihaly Ligmond, and her nephews Will & Eric Ligmond, Steven & Toni Boczkiewicz, and their daughter Tara, as well as Josh Hays and a large loving family of cousins and second cousins.

We will miss this caring woman of family, Cheryl. But we will cherish the memories she made with us, deeply in our hearts, forever.