October 4, 1948 to August 22, 2026

Cheryl Joy Davis died on August 22, 2026, at 77, having packed roughly twice that much living into the time she got.

Born in Winnipeg and chosen by Clifford and Helen Preston, she grew up on the family farm at Carman with her four siblings. Her first job, at 17, was at Aunt Sally’s Farm at the zoo, where a guanaco decided Cheryl was its mother, followed her everywhere, and sat with her in the lunchroom over a Diet Pepsi. She maintained that she taught the guanacos to smoke and the parrots to swear. That was Cheryl: fun.

She and her husband ran a welding shop, built a house, and raised their family. When her daughter’s family was moved to Florida, Cheryl went too, to help raise her granddaughter, and stayed nine years selling prearranged funerals. She called it the most rewarding work she ever did. Families phoned her at all hours because she told them to. One, after losing their son, said they could not have gotten through it without her. That was Cheryl: caring.

Back in Manitoba, she ran a restaurant on Traverse Bay near Victoria Beach for twenty years, and she ran it like a kitchen table. Her granddaughters worked there every summer. Anyone else who came to visit, friend or family, found themselves promoted to honorary employee within the hour, peeling potatoes, pouring coffee, taking orders. A man once complained his cup was dirty, so she pitched it out the door and observed that nobody would be using that one now. He told the room he had been going to restaurants for seventy years and never seen the like. He was told that if he kept coming, he’d see plenty more. At seventy she was still carrying fifty-pound boxes of potatoes into her own kitchen. That was Cheryl: hardworking.

She taught driver’s education, including to her own grandchildren, along with several things not on the curriculum. She travelled the world and did National Holiday Parade in Barcelona, deep sea fishing in Spain, St. Patrick’s Day in Ireland and Oktoberfest in Germany, where she broke her ankle racing the lift up the stairs because she intended to win. That was Cheryl: adventure.

Told after her diagnosis that she would miss her granddaughter’s wedding, she attended the dress fitting anyway, then made the wedding. Then she waited for the great-grandbabies and met them both. We got five more years than we were promised. That was Cheryl: family.

Predeceased by her parents, Clifford and Helen Preston. Survived by her daughter Michelle (Randy) Tressel and son Brook (Denise) Davis; grandchildren Brooke (Nick) Larson, Jack Tressel, Lauren Tressel, Hailey (Tanner) Deobald and Nathan Davis; great-grandchildren Elsie and Everett; her sister Leslie Preston; her sister Heather (Gary) Dowd, known to all as Ding; her brothers Gordon (Carol) and Rick (Victoria) Preston; and her special friends Coach and Jake.

Loved every job she ever had. Loved her people more. Had a great life. Said so herself.

Family and friends are invited to share memories and condolences on Cheryl’s memorial page using the comment field below.