Cheryl "Cheri" Buescher

On Thursday morning, September 8, 2022, Cheryl Ann (Todorich) Buescher, loving daughter, sister, mother and grandmother unexpectedly passed away from natural causes. Her sudden passing leaves her family and loved one’s mourning the loss of an extraordinary woman.

Cheri, as she was always called, was born on February 7, 1955 to Dorothy (Hayduk) Todorich and late Nicholas Todorich. She is survived by her mother and two sisters, Christine Paratore and Lori (Donnelly) Franceschini, husband Steve Franceschini; and nephews and nieces, Nicholas Paratore, wife Kelsey, Amanda Paratore, David Paratore, Kelly Donnelly and Jimmy Donnelly; great niece and nephew, Annabelle Hackett and Jack Paratore.

Cheri’s greatest loves and achievements in life were her children and grandchildren, who she proceeds in her death. Christie (Buescher) McCuen and husband Cy McCuen, along with their children Maxwell and Beckett McCuen, and Cheri’s son Jonathan Buescher.

Cheri was born in Johnstown, PA and resided there for a large portion of her life. She attended Westmont Hilltop High School in Johnstown, class of 1973, where she was head majorette of the marching band. She attended and graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education from Clarion University of Pennsylvania in 1977. Cheri was a member of the majorette team all four years of college. Her love for twirling and showmanship shined bright during that time, as she became the breakout star of the team. During her college years, she was an active member of Zeta Tau Alpha sorority, and supported her sister Christine in joining too. Cheri accepted a teaching position at St. Clements Catholic School as a Kindergarten teacher after college graduation, where she would work for the next 6 years. This was the start of a long and fulfilling career in education for Cheri. She truly loved shaping young minds and treated each and every student as if they were her own child. She continued on in her 25+ year career as a Kindergarten and VPK teacher, as she moved to Florida. She worked in St. Lucie County for 19 years at White City Elementary and Windmill Point Elementary, where she received many accolades and made lifelong friendships. Cheri was known by her colleagues as one of the good ones; master of her field, encouraging to others, loving and devoted to her ‘kids’ as she would call them. Cheri would have retired this December.

First and foremost, Cheri’s most important role in life was being a mother. Her children were truly the great loves of her life. Her entire world began and ended with Christie and Jonathan from the moment each were born. She would drive 4 hours round trip, on a week night, to take Christie to her dance studio, just to provide her with the best opportunities available. Then wake up the next day, teach 4–5-year-olds with a loving smile and warm embrace, and then rush Jonathan to the football fields for practice that evening. She loved nothing more than watching Christie and Jonathan excel in their respective passions. She was named the ultimate dance, cheer and pageant mom, as many young women recall her encouraging words and guidance in their own lives. On the flip side, she was always team mom for Jonathan’s sports teams, and would never miss a game. Once Christie gave birth to Maxwell and Beckett, Cheri’s focus turned to becoming the best Grammy in the world. And she succeeded! Again, she was always there for her grandchildren at any sporting event or big life moment. She lived for her daughters’ daily texts of Beckett’s funny one liners and Max’s compassionate acts as big brother. Max remembers his Grammy as “loving me and Beckett so much.” Beckett fondly recalls “she always gave us lollipops, and never wanted us to leave her house.”

Cheri was an avid coffee lover and started each day with a cup on the patio with her beloved dog Simba. She loved sharing her morning routine on social media, a custom that all of her friends and family grew to love and looked forward to waking up. She was a diehard fan of her Pittsburg teams, The Steelers and The Penguins, and quite possibly the #1 fan of Sidney Crosby of the Penguins. Cheri, along her son Jonathan, spent several years traveling around to race tracks and meet and greets, as big NASCAR and Jeff Gordon fans, where they bonded with fellow fans and made lasting friendships. Cheri’s love for jewelry and accessories grew into a small business, MAC’s little shop, which she would attend markets and festivals to sell her merchandise. Again, Cheri quickly made friends within the merchant community and they all looked forward to spending “Saturday mornings at the market” together. Throughout her life, Cheri was involved in numerous charitable organizations and volunteer groups. She worked with Relay for Life, headed the Grace Pack food pantry program at White City Elementary and volunteered for many years with St. Anastasia Catholic School and John Carroll High School, where her children attended, just to name a few.

The amount of love Cheri’s family, friends, colleagues and students had for her cannot be put into words. She truly impacted the life of each path she crossed, and will be greatly missed by all.

A visitation will be held on Thursday, September 15, 2022 from 5PM to 7PM at Haisley Tribute Center 2041 SW Bayshore Blvd Port St. Lucie, FL 34984. A Mass of Christian Burial will be conducted on Friday, September 16, 2022 at 10:30AM at St. Martin de Porres Catholic Church 2555 NE Savannah Road Jensen Beach, Florida 34957, burial will follow at Fernhill Memorial Gardens in Stuart, FL.

The family asks that if you purchased or received any of Cheri’s jewelry or accessories you wear them to the services. Charitable donations can be made to the Cheri Buescher Memorial Fund, through the St. Lucie County Education Foundation, Inc at https://www.educationfoundationstlucie.org/p/135/donate-now#.Yx9tMXbMKKy .