Cheryl Lynn Baker passed away peacefully in her home with her husband and two sons beside her on Oct. 20, 2020. Sherie had experienced symptoms of Lou Gehrig’s disease in June 2019 but was not formally diagnosed until March 2020. Despite the feared diagnosis due to substantial family history of the disease, Sherie retained her characteristic composure and remarkable joy for life.

Sherie was born Dec. 15, 1959 to Joe and Faye Wilson in Neubrücke, Germany. As per her father’s Army service, the family was stationed in California and Kentucky before settling in St. Louis, Mo. She was raised with her four siblings, Joe, Steve, Jeannie and Jimmy. Sherie also had two half-siblings, Joe and Theresa.

Sherie enjoyed working in a multitude of fields, including many years in banking at Citigroup. In 1988, she married her dear friend and love of her life, Brett Baker. They had two sons, Justin and Austin, born 1991 and 1993. The Baker family moved to Washington state in 1996, living in Silver Lake before moving to Whidbey Island In 1997.

On Whidbey, she spent most of her time being a stellar and incredibly fun mom for her sons. Over the years she found various part-time work around the island, but most cherished working for the South Whidbey School District as a sub for kitchen help and para-education.

An absolute lover of people and communication, Sherie was always glad to lend an ear. She could strike up effortless conversation with total strangers with the same genuine care that she gave her lifelong friends and family. She operated every day on love and kindness. Often she would say, “If you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all.“ She found great joy and beauty in even the simplest of things. Her authentic nature, self-confidence and optimistic view of the world were uplifting traits to aspire to. She will be ineffably missed.