I got to know Cherie our sophomore year of high school playing croquet at Judy May's (Baerg) house, but we didn't date until our freshman year of college at the UW. We dated off and on through college until Cherie graduated on time in 1962 and move to San Jose with Nancy Oldenburg (Cordry) to teach in Sunnyvale, CA. My good fortune brought us together on a train back to Seattle at Christmas time that year. I was in basic at Ft Ord, was dead broke, and had pneumonia when I got on the train for Christmas leave. By chance Cherie and Nancy were on the same train and got me home in one piece. Our romance was rekindled and we were married a year later. Cherie taught in Shoreline with Tim Buchanan's wife Sharol for six years while I finished college. Following my graduation we moved to Camas, WA where Cherie retired, we bought an old house, and worked at learning to live life in a small mill town. To our great joy our son Michael was born in 1969. Cherie continued to be involved in sewing, knitting, painting, volunteering, and playing bridge while making new friends and assuming the roles of mother and homemaker. During these years we spent much time exploring the Gifford Pinchot Nation Forest (on the slopes of Mt St Helens and Mt Adams) and on the Oregon and Washington coasts. As Nancy noted Cherie died much too young of a brain aneurysm in 1972. Our son Michael grew to 6 ft 4 inches 220 solid pound, is athletic, and inherited Cherie's gift for making music. He lives in Camas, works in the Bonneville Power office in Portland, and has a son.

Cherie has been gone a long time now but I still think of her often. She was part of our group of best friends. We had so much fun putting on our dance productions for every possible occasion.

I knew Cherie at Roosevelt, but it wasn't until my wife (Sharol Powell, Lincoln 1960) took a teaching position next door to Cherie (Briarcrest Elem, Shoreline School District), that we became good friends. Cherie was married to Ralph Norris (this class) and the two of them lived in Seattle and Camas, Washington. The four of us lived within walking distance of each other in Wedgwood, which led to many fun times and unforgettable memories. Many weekend nights were spent playing bridge and trying and/or inventing a new cocktail, most needing a quick trip to the liquor store for that "one time" ingredient. The girls spent hours lesson planning together, always interfering with the night's dinner preparation....the Spaghetti House, on Lake City Way, was their kitchen of choice. I remember the girls practicing their ukuleles, marathon sewing sessions, and trials and errors with the latest craft. Cherie was never happier than the day she found out she was pregnant, and delivering a son, Michael Jared Norris. Her life and friendship ended far too early for all of us.....November, 1972.

Cherie Wilson and I met in the fifth grade at Fairview Grade School. We became special friends growing up together. Cherie's mom always found us jobs-from gift wrapping at Frederick and Nelson's to stuffing envelopes. We used the money to take the bus downtown to have lunch at the Paul Bunyan Room at Fredericks and then go up to the fabric floor. We both loved to sew and knit and made most of our clothes. Cherie had a good voice and would always try to sing harmony with me-a mistake as I am a monotone! Our friendship continued and we in each others weddings. We played bridge with our mothers (the moms usually won) until Cherie moved to Camus and I moved to the east coast. She died many years ago but I still think of her as a most important part of my life growing up.

I first met Cherie because she lived next door to my aunt and uncle when we were at Roosevelt. But it was while we were both attending the U. of W. that we became close friends. We had many adventures together. Our Jr. year we took a trip along with two other girls to Laguna Beach during Spring Break. On the way, we felt so sophisticated when we were served drinks (we were under age) at Tiki Bob's in San Francisco. The object of the trio was of course to go to "Where the Boys Are". The trouble was that when we got there, there were no boys as no one else was having a Spring Break. We proceded to get quite sun burned and Cherie decided she needed to buy a pretty blue swim suit she had been coveting. It took all of her money and she no longer had any money for food for the rest of the trip. Well, you know, what's more important? Another thing we did was sew our dresses for the various functions and dances we attended. We would bu the fabric the day before an event and be hemming a dress as we went out the door the next evening. Cherie's mom taught us how to knit and we would sit and knit sweaters for our boy friends while watching TV reruns instead of studying. After graduation, we both landed teaching jobs in California so we shared and apartment in Sunnyvale. Cherie had a long commute by train to San Bruno but preferred living where one could see the green lawns and orchards rather than being in a tiny apartment in San Francisco. We cooked our first turkey dinner together for many friends for a Thanksgiving Feast. No one got sick! We were in each other's weddings. Cherie died in her early thirties of an aneurysm in her brain while pregnant with her second child. Cherie was smart, kind, sweet, funny, talented and a loyal friend. I have always missed her and I will still always miss her.