Muristek
On Friday, March 18, 2022, our sweet sister, daughter, and friend joined “a crowd of witnesses” in the presence of her Lord and Savior.Born to William Mac Groeneveld and Margaret Gay Jones in 1955, she had a very typical and wonderful childhood in the ’50s and ’60s. They lived in Tacoma, WA, then Billings, MT then Rialto, CA where Cherie spent most of her childhood. She attended Westmont College, and then never really left Santa Barbara except for part of a year in San Bernardino to get a teaching credential, half a year in Yuba City for a teaching position, and later in life a two-year missions trip to Ireland.Those who knew her, know of her many accomplishments, involvements, ministries, hobbies, and how much she invested in people. (Oh, and her matching jewelry!) Many enjoyed hearing her sing and play piano at Westmont College; Calvary Baptist Church; Calvary Chapel; the Santa Barbara and Santa Ynez Missions; Canticle; and many other venues throughout her lifetime starting as a young girl. SHRM-SCP and SPHR certified, she professionally assisted many in her Human Resources roles at Venoco, Superconductor Technologies, The Botanic Garden, and most recently, the Granada Theatre.Having a love of and prior brief travels to Israel and Ireland, she combined all her talents and lived outside her comfort zone for 2 years to be a missionary in Ireland to church plant there; once again proving that each of us has unique, God-given talents and purposes to reach out to others in just the way needed, and not always expected. She returned to live in a retirement community to take care of her mother.Diagnosed with cancer in July 2020, and knowing it was metastatic, she voraciously documented as much family and friend history as she could through scrapbooking– once again bringing her love, ministry, and creativity all together. Always organized, famous for unfinished projects, “quippy” with humor, she brought joy to others in the midst of lack.She is survived by her mother, Margaret Gay Groeneveld-Spears; brother William Mac Jr and his wife Jennifer (Reitz); sister Barbara; her much loved stepchildren, nieces, nephew, and all their children who all brought her much joy. Her many, many friends are also counted here.A celebration of her life, befittingly, will take place on her birthday June 5, 2022 at 3:00 pm at Calvary Chapel, 1 N. Calle Cesar Chavez, Ste 21, Santa Barbara, CA 93103. In lieu of flowers she requested donation support to any of the following located in Santa Barbara, CA: Westmont College 955 La Paz Rd, 93108; Santa Barbara Neighborhood Clinics 414 E Cota Street, 93011; Santa Barbara Botanic Garden 1212 Mission Canyon Rd, 93105; The Granada Theatre 1214 State Street 6th Floor, 93101; or Calvary Chapel Santa Barbara Missions Fund, 1 N Calle Cesar Chavez #21, 93103.We will deeply miss Cherie, and her commitment to her family and friends. In her own words: “Through all of this life, God has been my rock and strength and I profess my commitment to Him as my Savior, through His blood in Jesus Christ. All of my story points back to Him and His grace for me.”
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