Cheryl Linda Dickinson was born on September 7th, 1963. She was the youngest of 4 siblings - the lone sister with 3 older brothers. She was the "Miss America" of the family. Enjoying all sorts of activities from horseback riding, water skiing, cheerleading and particularly figure skating. When she was 14 Cheryl noticed her eye site was becoming blurry. After a series of tests it was determined there was a tumor. In the summer of '77 Cheryl had her first operation at Northwestern Children's Hospital. It was a lengthy procedure with a portion the tumor the surgeon could not remove. After lengthy rehabilitation Cheryl had challenges with her speech and movement. Yet with these challenges she faced each day with optimism and a "can do" attitude. In June, 1981 Cheryl had a second operation to remove the remaining portion of the tumor. Not letting her handicap keeping her down Cheryl worked hard to keep active. In '82 she joined "Young Life", participating in their meetings and outings - camping and even parasailing!

After a short routine operation Cheryl suddenly passed away on September 2, 1982.

Cheryl is alive in our hearts always with a smile.