Cheryl M. Kayser

The family of Cheryl Marie Kayser (nee Cowan) is sad to announce that their beloved Mother, Sister and Wife passed away on the afternoon of Sunday, July 19th.

Cheryl was born at Miami Valley Hospital, Dayton, Ohio, on the 7th of June, 1952 to Murrell and Jean Cowan. After graduation from Patterson Co-op in 1970, she earned her Bachelor's degree (majoring in History) from Carroll College in Waukesha, Wisconsin,
where she became a lifelong sister of the Alpha Xi Delta sorority. She later earned her Master's degree in education at Wright State University in Dayton.

She was a proud veteran of the U.S. Army, where she excelled in linguistics. Besides her good conduct award and honorable discharge as a Sergeant, she also qualified as a marksman and was the top Army student of her Korean language graduating class at the joint forces
Defense Language Institute/Foreign Language Center, Presidio of Monterey, California.

Cheryl found her vocational calling as an educator, inspiring students with her passion and skills. A generation of students at Chaminade-Julienne High School, for example, remember Mrs. Kayser fondly.

Her love of music and theater led her to spend 20 years participating in local theater in and around Dayton, most notably at the Dayton Playhouse, Playhouse South and Dare to Defy.

Dearest to Cheryl's heart was motherhood. Though there are no perfect parents, no one ever put more of herself, her abilities or her efforts into being a good Mother than Cheryl did. She helped her children to understand right versus wrong, while demonstrating
the true meaning of love by placing their needs above her own. Though times were sometimes difficult, she always found a way to bring some fun into their lives. Perhaps more importantly, she devised ways to bring some adventure into their childhoods, on
a budget of practically zero. Other kids at campsites or in the wild were in awe that Carey and Jim's Mom could perform and did perform wonders like baking a cake over a campfire, for instance.

Cheryl Marie is survived by her children, Carey J. Kayser and James M. Kayser Jr., her husband of over 40 years, James M. Kayser, her brother, James A. Cowan, and her sister-in-law, Gail Cowan.

In accordance with her wishes, a funeral service will be held for family and friends, as described below, and she will be laid to rest near her Father and Mother at Lebanon Cemetery, Lebanon, Ohio.

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