Cheryl Wertman Johansen, Class of 1965
Cheryl June (Wertman) Johansen of Westlake, Ohio, passed away on Wednesday, Sept. 9, at the Reserve Care Hospice Center in Medina with her daughters Laura and Lesley by her side. She was 83 and had been in declining health since falling and breaking her hip in February.
Born in Memphis, Tennessee, on June 6, 1943, to Edith (Wulf) and Daniel Wertman, Cheryl was raised in Lakewood, Ohio, along with her younger sister Virginia "Ginny." She was a proud graduate of Lakewood High School in 1961 and Muskingum College in 1965, where she majored in French and secondary education.
She married Robert W. "Pete" Yoder of Cleveland, Ohio, in 1965, and they bought their first home in Bay Village, Ohio, where Cheryl taught French at the high school. They settled in Olmsted Falls, Ohio, in 1972, where they raised their three daughters: Lisa, Laura, and Lesley. Cheryl was immensely proud of her children and could be seen in the bleachers and school auditoriums for every sporting event and arts performance. She was a longtime member of the Olmsted Falls Newcomers Club and was known in the community for her creativity and artwork, particularly her tole painting on wood, which she sold locally (and gifted to her kids' teachers!) for many years.
Following her divorce in the mid-1980s, Cheryl returned to work as a receptionist at the Chattman, Garfield, Friedlander and Paul law firm, first located in downtown Cleveland before moving to Independence, Ohio. In 2000, she became the administrative assistant to the mayor of Northfield Village, Ohio, where she worked until her retirement in 2008.
Cheryl married the love of her life, Arthur "Art" Johansen in 2007, and the couple lived in his century home in Norwalk, Ohio. They enjoyed artwork and travelling together. Following his untimely passing to lung cancer in 2010, Cheryl moved to Westlake, Ohio, where she lived until her fall.
Cheryl's love was in the details: in her meticulously arranged (and rearranged) home decor and patio, her carefully thought-out handmade cards and gifts, and her elaborate (and heavy!) care packages that she insisted on shipping to her grown-up children and their partners, as well as to her grandchildren, for all major and minor holidays, right through Valentine's Day of this year. She loved making things look beautiful and intentionally arranged - entering the world on 6/6 and leaving it on 9/9 seemed intentional too.
She also loved dogs, antiques, shopping, all things French, and lots of chocolate (even better if it came in the form of a Malley's hot fudge sundae). Her nightly routine consisted of Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy!, and she prided herself on almost always getting the answers right and gloating when she knew an answer that the contestants didn't. She loved word puzzles and was completing books of New York Times crossword puzzles right up until the summer. She was smart, creative, and a consummate observer (and worrier) about the world around her. She was a fighter until the very end, always standing up for herself and what she believed in.
Cheryl is survived by her three daughters: Laura DeCoste (Ken) of Westborough, Massachusetts, Lesley Yoder (Susan Arena) of Acton, Massachusetts, and Lisa Martin of Cleveland, Ohio; twin grandchildren Addie and Brooks DeCoste; college roommate and best friend Susan Taylor of McMurray, Pennsylvania; many nieces and nephews; and her dog Eugene. She was predeceased by her parents, Edith (Wulf) and Daniel Wertman; beloved husband and love of her life, Art Johansen of Baltimore, Maryland, and Norwalk, Ohio; sister Virginia "Ginny" Wertman (Stan Bolding) of Williamsburg, Virginia; former Yoder family members, including her first husband Robert W. "Pete" Yoder of Mooresville, N.C. and sister-in-law and close friend Carole (Wagner) Yoder of Valley City, Ohio; and dogs Wags, Becky, Toby, and Bowser.