Cheryl attended school in Mobridge, SD, and graduated from Mobridge High School in 1963. She was first in her class, but not allowed to attend graduation because she had married and had a child in high school. She would be the first to say thank heavens things have changed since then! Cheryl never judged anyone, and was tolerant and inclusive.
Cheryl was not, however, some boring do-gooder. She and Pat Hagen (a lifetime friend) decided to take up smoking in 2nd grade and managed to burn down a garage in Mobridge during the process! She also liked to buy peroxide at the drugstore and create a white streak in her hair. She rode her horse Ginger to the pool, and once had a minor tussle with Darlene resulting in a knife wound to Cheryl’s arm! Darlene’s response when asked about it was “Oh it was just a small poke.” We are pretty sure Darlene thought it was justifiable self-defense. She was probably right.
Cheryl’s mom Lorene hosted her children and their friends to all manner of parties. One report (for which no one has officially taken responsibility even though the Statute of Limitations has long run!) involved an angel food cake with sticky frosting, a firecracker and a gigantic mess in Lorene’s kitchen.
Cheryl married her once-in-a-lifetime sweetheart John Robert Bieber on April 22, 1962. She completed high school after that and attended Presentation College of Nursing, graduating in 1966. Cheryl did not let anything derail her dream of becoming a nurse. Not a colicky newborn, or a husband, or any other hurdles. She went to Presentation as the first married woman to attend, and worked hard to be a success.
Cheryl worked as a nurse her entire career. She was especially good at mentoring and training young nurses, directing traffic during chaotic shifts, and keeping the docs in line. Cheryl’s main tools were humor, kindness, an uncanny ability to “read the room” and dedication to putting patient care first.
Cheryl loved the Huskers, scrapbooking, her family (especially grandkids), margaritas, fishing, eating, laughing, Maui, coffee, her dear friends, her patients, cute shoes and so many other things. Cheryl remained convinced that this is THE year for the Huskers. She had her nails done in red and white with the N (thanks to dear Adina!) and sailed off to heaven ready for the games! GBR!
She was our Queen Bee Pollyanna, and we are heartbroken and lost without her. She would want us to carry on, and so we will. Cheryl does not tolerate quitting, and would expect us to have all the fun and experience all the joy she would love to have participated in.
Cheryl’s spiritual faith was rock solid. She believed in the hereafter and was ready to go see what was waiting for her. She worked hard to get the rest of us to fall in line with her dedication to church and service. All of us added together can hardly hold a candle to what she accomplished.
Cheryl was the main meal planner and organizer for the many summer family gatherings at the River. Even after she had a feeding tube, she was still directing the show for meals. Probably we will all starve to death next summer without her there to poke and prod. We will be taking her along to Mobridge next summer for a celebration of her life. Cheryl was practical and not materialistic, so she will be traveling via a Dillards shoe box. She was not having any expensive, fancy urn business. She was grateful to have had one last fishing trip in July, where, of course, she caught a walleye.
As her oldest daughter, and the one directed to write this, I want to share my favorite quality of my mom. For as long as I can remember, you could ask her to do ANYTHING and her answer would inevitably be an enthusiastic YES. She said yes for as long as she could, to as many adventures as she could, and set an amazing example for all of us about how to live life to its full depth and breadth. The older I get, the more I realize how courageous and brave she truly was. My siblings and I are all proud to be her children.
Cheryl is survived by husband John, daughter Shari (Jeff) Langner, and their children Nick Langner (wife Diana, children Isabella, Ezekiel, Bode) Gabriel Langner (wife Janae, child Griffin); son Thomas (Dawn) Bieber, and his children Cory Bieber, (partner Brenna Redday, children Presley and Bella) and JT Bieber; and daughter Jennifer (Frank) Foster, and their children Elsie (Adam) Arslan, Isaac Moorehead, Abigail Moorehead; brother Gary Vance and many nieces and nephews.
Cheryl was preceded in death by her parents, Lawrence and Lorene, and sisters Elsie and Darlene, sisters in law Nancy Kay Vance and Karen Bieber.
A memorial service will be held at 1:30p.m, Tuesday, August 20, 2024 at Southwood Lutheran Church, 4301 Wilderness Hills Blvd, Lincoln, NE 68516.
Livestream will be available 10 minutes prior service start time.