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Cheryl Whitehead Obituary
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Memories and Condolences
for Cheryl Whitehead
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Lisa Nadeau
January 24, 2021
I didn’t find out that Cheryl had died until a few years ago. I was so devastated. She was my best friend. We rode the bus together every single day. She would walk to my house to visit and I would go to her house.. we loved about a mile away from each other.
And here I am , January 25,2021 thinking of my dear friend, Cheryl. I love you and I miss you. I had the best time of my life with you. The high School tears to college. ❤
Bob
July 7, 2006
As your 40th birthday has come and gone, your photo on my fridge keeps you an eternal 30ish. We look at it everyday. Sadie asks who is the "girl" dancing next to mama. I tell her you're my good friend. As a 4 year old she is already thinking and worrying about death. I don't know how to explain it to her yet, but it gives me great comfort to know that she will someday get to meet you.
Bob O'Connell
April 22, 2003
Remarks shared at Cheryl's memorial service.
I first met Cheryl at the Hotel Northampton in the fall of 1989. My roommates, Peter and Ken, were already working there. So, I can't clain the honor of being the first in that crowd to have met her.
Everyone in that house wanted to ask her out, but she was too smart to date any of us then. She was also smart enough to see the demise of the hotel coming before we did and abandoned us on that sinking ship to work down at Fitz Willy's. The rest of us were stuck there and laid off by Christmas. It was while she worked at Fiz Willy's that I first noticed she always attracted a crowd.
Her legions of lurkers began, and included more that a few of the people here today. I later became her roommate on Pleasant St. For a time we turned the place into an art gallery so we could throw "artsie" parties. We got stuck with a half dozen images of the Virgin for months. She was such a good Catholic girl.
When I moved back to Boston following college, I wondered how my Northampton friends would mix in. In retrospect, I didn't have to worry.
It took some people years to turn on to Kenny, but everyone loved Cheryl. Wherever she went, from UMass, to Brighton, to Charlestown, she gathered more friends into her fold.
As Josh Child's said, "Whenever Cheryl was on duty you could always count on one or more groups of her friends gathering at Silvertone". And often these groups of people had almost nothing in common - except Cheryl.
That crowd gathered in this church today is also a testament to her talent for making friends in every location, every situation.
So what drew so many people to Cheryl?
It was nothing shallow, not money, or power, or fame, or even beauty, though she was undeniably beautiful. Cheryl established a bond with each of us. First, with her gift of humor and infectious sense of fun. When you were with Cheryl, you were always having fun. Whether dressing up in drag so I could be one of her Charlie's Angels, to skinny dipping in the res. in the we hours of a mid-summers night. You felt special just to be with her.
She had a distinctive, mischievous chuckle, and she was always laughing. She didn't just smile, it was more of a full body laugh, rearing back and doubling over, that big smile and every muscle participating in the joke, or more often, a jab.
More importantly she had a genuine interest in people.......who they were, what they did, what their dreams were.
Eventually, for us lucky ones, that bond developed into love. As my wife Jenn said, "Cheryl made us feel good because her love for us was genuine".... and she was generous with it, as with all things.
We are all better people for having known Cheryl.
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Meg Kropp
May 3, 2002
It has been a tough week as the sad, sad realization sets in that our friend Cheryl will not be around anymore. She was a truly selfless person that knew how to enjoy life--a winning combination in a friend--bringing smiles and laughs, even in her work, to her friends and those around her. I will forever cherish the memories of the great times we had at Sparhawk and Silvertone and other spots in town…nights that didn’t seem so special then are now a large part of all we have left. I wish I had more pictures, but more than anything I wish I could have some more nights at Silvertone…a few more cosmos…a few more belly laughs and a few more hugs from my good friend. I miss her already.
Lenny Young
May 2, 2002
Met you and Matt and friends of Michelle in 75 Chestnut, Boston, MA, last year and was saddened and shocked by news told to me by Michelle and Eric last Saturday in 75 Chestnut. The good die young which is so wrong. You seemed a lovely person to me Cheryl and you were surrounded by family and friends who loved you. That's how I'll remember you-making people laugh and happy and caring so much for them. Take care.
Lenny
Jennifer Palmer
April 29, 2002
The loss of Cheryl is unthinkable. She was so full of life. We always enjoyed her company, and looked forward to our summer vacations. Cheryl would always come for a few days, and we would have so much fun when she was around. She was so spirited and lively. I was thinking about it the other day,she was like the female Mike Kostas. People always gathered around her. She was so friendly, and was always throwing parties. She could have a bbq on a random Tuesday, and about 30 people would show up. Cheryl was the type of girl that if you knew her for 10 minutes, you felt like you knew her a lifetime. I will miss her tremendously.
Tom Hotz
April 29, 2002
Cheryl was a big part of my daily life when we both lived in Northampton. I had the pleasure of sharing an apartment with her and Bob O'Connell for a few months. She was a very sweet and funny person and I am very sad to know that she is gone. She was a rare jewel.
How lucky we all were to have known her.
Godspeed Cheryl.
love,
Tom
kropp
April 29, 2002
Cheryl was an incredibly welcoming, and positive person. My prayers will be for her family. We will always remember her. Bye Cheryl
Ken Ostrander
April 29, 2002
I first met Cheryl on training day
My first day as a waiter at the Coolidge Cafe
For me it was love at first sight
She was adorable, witty, vivacious, and bright
When the Hotel Northampton got much too silly
She moved down the street to a place called Fitzwilly's
Over cheesesticks and nachos the circle extended
To include all the characters that Cheryl befriended
She drew them all in like fish to a net
There are some who have claimed she was a freak magnet
It was her joy, her zest for living,
A childlike enthusiasm that just kept on giving
Pool hopping, party hopping, lost in a kiff
Hayrides and waterfights and drinks made too stiff
Snowed in playing games like monopoly and twister
Stories about those who tried to have kissed her
There were boys and girls that wanted to date her
But time and again she would say "Smell ya later"
Our little tryst was short lived but sweet
Our continuing friendship a miraculous feat
We trusted each other with our lives and our cars
And I followed Cheryl to all of her bars
When she moved out to Boston she stayed at our place
Until the basement flooded and we were kicked out of the space
It was unclear for a while just where we would go
Yet there was plenty of pizza from the Bluestone Bistro
But that crazy stuff just couldn't compare
To the communal breakfasts we all used to share
All those late night dance parties that went until dawn
And still the Cherry Herring is not all gone
Innumerable concerts and trips to the beach
So many creative figures of speech
Trips to pink palaces with situations uncomfortable
A trip to Chicago in a rented convertible
Another O'Connell wedding in another city
Another reason to worry about kitty
Those Friday nights at Silvertone
She was my touchstone
Her infectious laugh, her knowing smiles
The winsome way she worked her wiles
She was the loop, encircled by friends
And admirers without end
Co-workers, neighbors, and what brothers,
Arm chair managers, friends, and lovers
She was always on, she was always there
Stealing the scene with her indominatable flair
Through good times and bad, through car crashes,
Through fashion faux pas, and questionable mustaches,
Through studies at Harvard and at Yale,
She was always clever, never stale
Through it all she was always a contender
My muse, my friend, my beloved bartender.
TJ Griffin
April 25, 2002
I don't think I have ever met anyone who so many people loved so much. Her personality was so vibrant, her laugh so contagious that she made you feel more alive just by her presence. The world seems now to be that much darker without her.
I will miss you Cheryl.
Eileen O'Connell
April 25, 2002
It's difficult to write how losing Cheryl will affect my life. Instead I suppose I should write how much having her in my life made it better. She was such a great friend. Someone I was always so happy to see or speak with. She made a room brighten with her presence. Any situation she was a part of was always better because she was there. I can hear her laugh and her saying "hello Eileen" in her laughing, conspiring voice. We will all miss you so much Cheryl and I think you know that. You will always be a part of us and we will never forget you. I promise we will remember you and think of you each day especially during the good times to be had in the future.
Joe Rigoli
April 25, 2002
For those of us that worked with Cheryl, it will be impossible to forget her smile, her laugh and the twinkle in her eye. She was the type of person who, by her nature, made me believe that there are still good people out there. I was lucky to know her and even luckier to call her my friend.
Joe Rigoli
Sparhawk '97
Mike Kostas
April 25, 2002
Cheryl is one of the most special people I have ever had the pleasure of knowing. I feel truely blessed for having had her in my life.
Peter Hickey
April 25, 2002
Cheryl was, by far, one of my best friends in this world. She was always incredibly generous, especially with her time and humor. Her lovely and infectious laugh reverberates within my head. As a friend, she managed to keep tabs on so many others, that she served us all as a connecting soul through whom we could all keep in touch. I guess that's why she made such a great bartender.
Her courage in the face of illness was remarkable and a true inspiration.
My life was deeply affected by the presence of Ms. Cheryl, and with her parting, will never again be the same. I fold her memory within my heart; her smile indelibly (and thankfully) burned into my memory. I love you, Cheryl.
John O'Connell
April 25, 2002
Cheryl was so much fun to be around, so full of laughter, opinion and energy, that her passing is difficult to comprehend.
She made our lives better while she was here, and her strong spirit will remain with us.
Karen Kempker
April 25, 2002
I am so sorry to hear about Cheryl's passing. She is a beautiful person and a friend to so many. I wish I could be there on Saturday. You will all be in my thoughts and prayers.
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