Cheryl Pettes Smith

June 9, 1962 - April 15, 2020

Cheryl Smith was ushered into the presence of the Lord, on the morning of April 15, 2020, in her home in Annapolis, MD, after a sudden and short struggle with acute Leukemia. She was born on June 9, 1962, in Easton, PA to Wayne and Connie Pettes. Though born in Pennsylvania she grew up in Wilmington, DE. After physical therapy school, she moved to Denver, CO for work and adventure. In 1989 she married her husband, Stanton, after they met through sweet happenstance in their church small group. In 1990 they welcomed twin daughters into the world and after a few short years moved to Wilmington, NC where Cheryl lived most of her life homeschooling her children and hospitably caring for others in her life. In 2020 she moved to Maryland with dreams of fixing up a home that could be a haven for her mother, grandchildren, and family. Though she had many occupations (i.e. physical therapist, scuba instructor, and travel agent), she always said caring for her family was always her favorite occupation. Cheryl had an irresistible vivacity for life and a caring, compassionate, loving, generous, thankful and hospitable spirit. Those whom she spoke to often were struck by her care for them and her ability to bring both levity and depth to a conversation. Amid such gifts, she desired to give God all the glory for them and point to Christ’s redeeming work on the cross and in her life for anything good in her. As Cheryl would attest, ultimately it was the Lord who perfectly numbered her days and whose hand led her all her life (Psalm 139). Christ was her helper and her keeper (Psalm 121), the One who aided her in finishing her race well and sing praises to Him with all the other saints in heaven forever. Cheryl was survived by her husband, Stanton; her mother, Connie; her sister, Janice; her daughters, Kate and Christine; her son-in-law, Matthew; and her two beloved granddaughters. There will be a graveside service for family held for her at Bestgate Memorial Park in Annapolis, MD on April 17, 2020, at 1:30 p.m. A full memorial service will be held in Wilmington, NC later due to restrictions in conjunction with Covid19.