Cheryle Jeanne Wilcox

Cheryle Jeanne Terry Wilcox, 81, passed away in the home of her dreams on Saturday afternoon, February 21, 2026, bathed in familial love. She was born in Des Moines, Iowa on October 22, 1944. At that time her father, stationed in England, was preparing to ship out to join the US Army's invasion of Europe during World War Il; and he would not meet his new daughter, his first child, until December 1945.

During Cheryle's first decade of life, tragedy struck twice. In 1952, at age seven, she contracted polio. That year was an epidemic year for this potentially fatal, crippling disease with over 3000 deaths nationwide and with survivors living in braces, crutches, or confined to so-called "iron lungs". Fortunately, she recovered completely with no apparent after-effects.

The second tragedy occurred when she was nine. Her mother, nearly 31, died of cancer. According to Cheryle, this was one of the most formative events of her life. She knew that her loss immediately influenced her development. Over time she realized that it had caused her to become much more independent and self-reliant than her contemporaries. When she started to date her future husband, Mark, -who called her Cheri-those two qualities, among other things, struck an important chord with him. He proposed marriage within four months.

Cheri graduated from Valley High School in West Des Moines in 1963 and from Drake University in Des Moines in 1967. After she and her family moved to the Chicago suburbs in 1975, she attended the University of Illinois at Chicago Circle and received a Master of Science Degree in 1981.

While still a student at Drake, she took a part-time teaching and coaching job at a Catholic parochial school in West Des Moines. It was such a positive experience for her that it blossomed into a life-long career in education. She taught and coached two years at the Catholic school, three years in the Des Moines Public School system, three years in lonia, Michigan, two years as a permanent substitute at Hersey High School in Arlington Heights, and 25 years in School District 211 in Palatine, where she taught physical education and health classes.

Cheri was a pioneer of sorts. She was the first in her family to get a college degree (1967). While teaching and coaching at Des Moines' Lincoln High School, Iowa's most populous high school, she held the city's first girls' gymnastics meet (1971). She was the first permanent substitute teacher in School Districts 211 or 214 (1976). She was the first graduate student in the Physical Education Department at U of 1, Chicago Circle to have her master's thesis published (1984). She was Palatine High School's first Girls' Sports Coordinator (1984), a position somewhat like an athletic director for girls' sports. During her 12 years in that job, the Palatine High School girls' teams won an astounding 31 state trophies, 14 of which were state championships. She also pioneered, along with millions of other women and men, the explosive growth of women and girls' sports such as volleyball, badminton, gymnastics, basketball, and soccer. None of these sports was open to females when Cheri attended high school. Today, the opportunity for women and girls to compete in the athletic endeavors of their choosing can easily be taken for granted, thanks to pioneers like Cheri.

Cheri is survived by her husband of 54 years, three children, three grandchildren, a sister and a brother.

A Celebration of Life service will be held at the First United Methodist Church, 500 N. 1st Street, Cary, Illinois on Saturday, March 21. Visitation will begin at 10 AM, and the service will start at 12 noon with a luncheon following.

Flowers and/or memorial contributions to the National Resources Defense Council (NRDC, PO Box 1830, Merrifield, VA 22116-9729) are equally welcome.