Cheryl Marie Lappi

Cheryl, beloved wife and best friend of Kevin Lappi, was born January 29, 1954, in Pittsfield, Massachusetts. The third child of Carolyn Caulfield and Robert V. Pomeroy, she is survived by her sisters Kathleen Cloutier, Roberta Pomeroy (and her husband, Don Biddlecombe), and Caryn Scott; her brother, James Pomeroy; her much loved in-laws; and her many treasured nieces, nephews, cousins, and friends. Her sister Susan predeceased her.

When we think of Cheryl, we think of the things she loved passionately: her family, her pets, her roses, the Boston Red Sox, singing, good wine, Gordon Lightfoot, reading, California, and tea, to name just a few. Love defined her. She had a strong sense of social justice and lived her life according to her principals, but she was not unkind to those with whom she did not agree. She was courageous in the face of health issues that would have defeated many of us long ago. Perhaps that is why she was able to open her heart to so much and so many. That heart hasn’t taken her from us; it simply placed her more firmly in ours, where she will be held, with love, for as long as we are here.

For those wishing to make a contribution in her memory, we suggest the following, because they meant a lot to her:

Planned Parenthood

The American Heart Association

SPCA, Los Angeles

God speed, beloved wife, sister, aunt, cousin, friend.

**********

You can shed tears that she is gone

Or you can smile because she has lived

You can close your eyes and pray that she will come back

Or you can open your eyes and see all that she has left

Your heart can be empty because you can’t see her

Or you can be full of the love that you shared

You can turn your back on tomorrow and live yesterday

Or you can be happy for tomorrow because of yesterday

You can remember her and only that she is gone

Or you can cherish her memory and let it live on

You can cry and close your mind, be empty and turn your back

Or you can do what she would want: smile, open your eyes, love and go on.

—David Harkins