Cheri Marie Gerhart, 71, left the world in the same way that she occupied it, quietly and peacefully.  Cheri was born in Muskegon, Michigan, to Walter and Marguerite (Nastase) Jones.  Cheri was in the middle of her siblings, Walter Jones and Rosemarie Lee, who describe her as "the good one."  She married the love of her life, James Gerhart, in September 1982, after he purportedly "stole her from the convent." She taught at Muskegon Catholic Central and lived with her friends who were nuns in the months before their wedding.  Cheri was the mother of Jim Irick (Jordan) Gerhart and Margaret Elaine (Brandon) Lewis.  She was blessed with 4 grandchildren, Jack Monroe Gerhart, Evelyn June Lewis, Lawrence Peregrine "Pippin" Gerhart, and Ruby Marielle Gerhart. She adored her nieces, Traci, Cheri, and Nikki, and her nephews, BJ and Jason, like they were her own.

Cheri had a peacefulness that was borne out of the drive to understand and accept the world around her, and through her faith, she rarely doubted her place or purpose. As a child, she loved exploring nature trails with her father.  She grew to find joy in sharing her family's love of nature as a teacher. Cheri attended Muskegon Catholic Central High School and graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Education from Western Michigan University.  She taught natural sciences in Rockford, IL, Flint, Muskegon Catholic Central, Orchard View, and Muskegon High Schools.

While pure in spirit, Cheri was perfectly human and loved to laugh at her faults. She could be noisy. Her students studied gravity by tossing concrete out 3rd story windows, and inertia by rolling bowling balls through the hallways of Muskegon High. Her car was a mess. She was too busy stockpiling cookies for students and rescuing bats and baby squirrels. She accidentally terrified some elementary students by bringing a taxidermized opossum for show-and-tell. Her front yard butterfly garden still is an experiment in natural selection. Her ability to love and forgive herself extended to others. She would let students try and try again at experiments until they got the grade they were looking for. Her talent was recognized in May 2001 when she was awarded the Subaru National Science Teacher Award.

Cheri dedicated the final years of her life to the people and plants around her. She made blueberry pies, spaghetti and meatballs for her doctors, cookies for her daughter's work crew, lasagna for the local beloved veterinary team, and chicken noodle soup and cinnamon rolls for just about everyone she met.  She crocheted hundreds of baby blankets and hats for the local giving tree.  Cheri continued to educate in her retirement as a science instructor for the W.G. Jackson, a water studies research vessel at Grand Valley State University.  She was passionate about saving Monarch butterflies and spent two summers acquiring any available plant that Monarchs and other pollinators require to thrive.   In place of flowers, Cheri would like everyone to let the milkweed in their yards grow naturally. If you can, find a butterfly bush and plant it.  If you don't have a green thumb, please consider those less fortunate with a gift to the St. Jude's Children's Hospital.

And so, another good life always ends with a little unfinished business. We guess someone finally needs to clean out her car, but her garden will keep growing. We love you, "Cheech," and all you taught us.

Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 11:00 AM, Thursday, October 7, 2021, at St. James Catholic Church, 5149 Dowling Street, Montague, MI 49437, with Rev. Peter Omogo presiding. The family will receive friends Thursday from 10:00 AM until time of services at the church.

Beacon Cremation & Funeral Service, White Lake Chapel, is in charge of arrangements.

www.beaconfh.com