Cheryl Schoonmaker

Cheryl Ann Schoonmaker
Artist, spiritual guide, heartbreaker, and professional survivor, Cheryl Schoonmaker finally set down her paintbrush for the last time on March 11, 2025, at 4:18 p.m. She passed peacefully at home, exactly how she wanted—far away from doctors, surrounded by family, and rolling her
eyes at the medical predictions she outlived by 15 years.

Born to Doris Reid-Moody and Walter Schoonmaker, Cheryl spent her life bouncing between, Miami, FL and Auburn, NY. In Florida, she ran marathons, did triathlons like it was a casual hobby, and absolutely thrived on being busy and surrounded by her people. She spent all her money on fashionable clothes, charmed the entire Miami population, and never sat still for long.

For more than 20 years, she and her dad, Walt, drew caricatures together at the Sterling Renaissance Festival—the hardest part of the job being the end-of-day trudge up the hill to their car. Their drawings made faces bigger and egos smaller, and they never once apologized for it. Cheryl’s biggest dream was to be a mom, and she knocked that one out of the park.
 She is survived by her three children—Brett, Bob, and Bailey Burr—who inherited her creativity, her stubbornness, and, unfortunately, very little of her athleticism. She leaves behind her dad, Walt
Schoonmaker, his wife Jan, her siblings Dawn (Schoonmaker) Jordan and Sam Schoonmaker, and the rest of the tightly knit Schoonmaker family, who have somehow managed to stay a little
too close over the years. Cheryl spent her last year's crocheting at a frankly alarming rate, turning every stitch into a tiny act of persistence. Her house overflowed with blankets and rugs, and she happily passed them along to family, making sure to keep everyone warm for the winter. She heated her purple house
with wood, taught her kids how to chop down trees, and always reminded us to trust our gut, educate ourselves and be kind. She had a strong case of ESP—extra special person—and connected deeply with people, reading their souls like an open book. She always found beauty in the mess and magic in the ordinary. She used to sleep at Granny’s property near Lake Ontario, waking up to the sound of the waves crashing at dusk, which she swore was the best sound in the world. Now, she’ll be there for good.

  Per her wishes, there will be no services—no fuss, no show, no one seeing her. We’ll be spreading her ashes in Lake Ontario during a beautiful summer sunset, just as she wanted.

In lieu of flowers, please donate to Hope Lodge Rochester or Pluta Cancer Foundation:
https://raiseyourway.donordrive.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=donate.event&eventID=1207
https://plutacancerfoundation.org/donate/

And in her honor—create something weird, ignore the dust, and remember that no one, not
even cancer, gets to tell you when you’re done living.

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Cheryl Schoonmaker, please visit our floral store.