Cheryl Bradley

Cheryl Howard Bradley, 68, of Wilson, passed away on Saturday, August 24, 2019 after a courageous five year battle with breast cancer.

Funeral, Tuesday, 2:00 PM, at First Presbyterian Church followed by visitation.  Entombment will be in Evergreen Memorial Park.

She is survived by her husband, Cecil H. Bradley, Jr.; son, Justin Hayes of Wilson; step-son, David Bradley (Mary) of Wilson, and their daughter, Laura; sister, Kay Medlin of Wilson; brother, Phillip Howard of Washington; mother-in-law, Louise B. Bradley of Wilson.

Cheryl was preceded in death by her sister, Linda Manning and brother, Doug Howard.

After making a decision to go back to school to become a Registered Nurse, Cheryl found the perfect opportunity to use her incredible skills and limitless compassion as a chemotherapy nurse for Dr. Dudley Anderson.  They worked together for over twenty years providing expert treatment and heartfelt benevolence to countless cancer patients and their families.  Cheryl, Dudley, and the two office pet therapists, Newton and Bart, went far beyond the call of duty to treat illness...they made it clear to every patient and their loved ones that they genuinely cared for them as people.  Caring for cancer patients wasn't an occupation for Cheryl...it was a calling.

Cheryl and Cecil were childhood sweethearts at Fike High in the late 60's, but didn't reconnect and marry until they were 38 years old.  From that point on, they were inseparable.  They shared a passion for sports and travel, but also dearly loved the home they designed and built together in 1998.  They went to almost every home Wake Forest football game together for over thirty years, and also enjoyed many road trips to games at Duke, North Carolina, NC State, Army, Navy, Clemson, Mississippi, and many others.  They especially treasured trips to Jacksonville and Miami in 2006 to watch the Deacons win the ACC Championship and play in the Orange Bowl.  Their other favorite destination was Las Vegas. They spent over 80 weeks of their life together on trips to Las Vegas, and had a 10-day trip scheduled in April when Cheryl's cancer reoccurred.  They also enjoyed numerous trips to Lake Tahoe, Reno, Atlantic City, Biloxi and the Caribbean.

Cheryl's first love was her family.  She was a loving, devoted mother to Justin.  She never missed a ball game or golf tournament.  Her steadfast devotion to his love for golf was obvious to all who knew her, and it paid off when he was awarded a full scholarship to UNC Charlotte.  She enjoyed a special relationship with her stepson David.  They connected as soon as they met, and she managed to find the perfect mixture of being a parent and a friend to him.  She was an inspiration to her two brothers and two sisters, and a caregiver to both her mother and Cecil's.  Cecil's mother, who is 98 years old, still refers to her as her daughter.  Her love for family and friends was most obvious at Christmas.  Every year on Christmas Eve she hosted a party at home for 35 to 40 loved ones, and she insisted on doing practically all of the decorating and catering herself.  She never asked for anything for herself, and was always giving to others.

Special thanks goes to Dr. Scott Smith and to Kim Fulghum and Mandy Harris from Community Hospice.

Memorials are suggested to The Wounded Warrior Project, 1990 Fordham Dr, Ste 100, Fayetteville, NC 28304 or to First Presbyterian Church, 414 Sunset Rd NW, Wilson, NC 27893.