BERNARD CHEEKA

1930 - 2021

Bernard T. Cheeka "Ben" (Age 90)   
Bernard Thomas Cheeka, 90, of Silver Spring, Maryland, passed away at home on July 22 from lung cancer. Ben was born on October 15, 1930, in McAdoo, Pennsylvania, one of six children of Walter and Beatrice Cheeka, who were immigrants from Poland. After serving as a photographer in the Air Force during the Korean War, Ben studied industrial engineering at Penn State through the GI Bill. He moved to Silver Spring after college and worked for the federal government as an engineer for 25 years. He met his wife, the former Barbara Schrider, on a hike, and they were married at St. John the Baptist Catholic Church in Silver Spring in 1968. They had one daughter, Julie Ann. After retiring from the government in 1980, Ben taught tennis and worked in bookkeeping and membership at the Silver Spring YMCA for many years. He had a great love for billiards, bowling, and tennis, which he played well into his 80s. Ben is survived by his wife of 53 years, Barbara, of Silver Spring; his daughter, Julie Cheeka Painter, her husband, William Painter, and his grandson, Liam Painter, of Alexandria, Virginia; his sister Dorothy Walters and her husband, Ron Walters, of Aurora, Colorado; and his beloved dog, Cooper. Per his wishes, no service is planned. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the Silver Spring YMCA at https://www.ymcadc.org/support-the-y/give/memorial-funds/