Vershire, Vt. —
Cheryl was born on April 2, 1945, at Mary Hitchcock Memorial Hospital in Hanover. However, she lived most years of her life in Vermont and truly considered herself a Vermonter. She was the daughter of Dale and Nadine (George) Hill.
She lived in several different places when young, and so was educated at the one-room schoolhouse in Post Mills, Vt., Tucson High School in Arizona, Hanover High in New Hampshire, Middletown High School in Connecticut, and Santa Ana Community College in California.
She began her long working life in the tobacco fields of Connecticut, when she was a young teenager. She ran away to join the circus with a District Attorney’s son. It didn’t work out, and so she went on to be hired after her family changed location, by Warner Bentley at the Hopkins Center in Hanover. She also worked at the famous Golden Bear in California, administrative offices of State Farm Insurance, the Forestry Service, back again for another stint at the Hopkins Center later in life, and lastly at Saetec in Enfield, N.H., until she retired.
Cheryl was a hub of her large extended family, and was always bringing people together through birthday celebrations, family reunions, mail, e-mail, phone calls and Facebook. She loved her family always and fiercely. She stitched together family scattered across the country, and more recently reached out to new friends internationally through the internet. She was loyal, frank and generous in her affection.
Cheryl was passionate about civic life and community building. She was very instrumental in the establishment of Vershare, a non-profit organization for the fostering of community development in Vershire. She was key in establishing their successful fund-raiser of several years, the Snow-Shoe-A-Thon, the proceeds of which allowed many children to attend free summer camps. She also did a stint in the Historical Society of Vershire. Cheryl encouraged people to at the very least vote in government elections. She wrote to legislators as her partners in citizenship, and believed in democracy and personally participated as long as she was able.
She had a strong sense of the fanciful and whimsical in art and life, and expected that magic was possible in this world if only humanity would not foul up the works. She was devoted to the cat species all her life, but loved and respected all wild life. She was a voracious reader and read diverse subjects, and had quite a collection of books about the Native Abenaki’s of Vermont, and Indians of the U.S., as well as the folk lore of Scandinavia for which she had a curious affinity.
At her request there will not be a public service or funeral. At some later date if there is a memorial gathering there will be a notice of it. Those who are moved to make a donation in her name are encouraged to send it in care of Vershare, P.O. Box 112, Vershire, VT 05079. That would be a tribute that she would have enjoyed. We will miss her unique and free-spirited mind, her sense of humor, her loving heart, and strong character.
A private message of sympathy for the family can be shared at www.boardwayandcilley.com. The Boardway & Cilley Funeral Home, Chelsea, Vt. is in charge of arrangements.