This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Surnames: Johnson, Meyer, Severson, Spencer, Poppe, Jaskolski Classification: Obituary Message Board URL: http://boards.ancestry.com/mbexec/msg/rw/3FC.2ACI/2564 Message Board Post: Friday, September 19, 2003 Veteran court clerk Cheryl Johnson dies By Jon Echternacht [email protected] The St. Croix County Clerk of Court’s office is without a large part of its heart and soul this week. Cheryl J. Johnson, 54, a 10-year veteran deputy clerk, lost her battle with cancer and died at 4:05 p.m. last Wednesday (Sept. 10) at Hudson Hospital. “She was the glue, the pillar, the rock,” said Clerk of Court Lori Meyer. “She leaves a huge hole in this office. She was a friend and confidant.” Cheryl started in the clerk’s office June 1, 1993, and served as office manager for the past five years. She worked the traffic desk early in her stint with the county, where she met her husband, Donald F. Johnson, a state trooper. They were married Feb. 14, 1997, in Red Wing, Minn. She had no children but friends and colleagues remarked that her dog SayU, a Lhasa bichon, was her baby. “The dog died shortly after Cheryl was diagnosed with cancer July 6,” said Kristi Severson, clerk of court bookkeeper who has worked in the office nine years. Meyer has been clerk for nearly 12 years and hired Cheryl. “We worked together for a private law firm in Hayward before that,” Meyer said. “I went on pregnancy leave with my first child 18 years ago and Cheryl filled in. When I came back, she stayed on.” Her efficient work habits are legend among fellow employees. “She was no-nonsense, cut-to-the-chase, very efficient,” said Severson. “She was extremely efficient, very professional, extremely loyal and honest,” said Meyer. “She meant what she said and said what she meant.” “She got things done and believed in working for her paycheck,” said Ruth Spencer, a deputy clerk since 1989 who was on board when Cheryl arrived. “Cheryl left this world a better place than when she came into it,” Meyer added. Meyer wrote a poem in Cheryl’s memory titled “Ode to a Friend.” It closes with, “O’er past eighteen years, more than a friend, like a sister This woman called Cheryl; believe me, I’ll miss her.” Cheryl, the daughter of Everett and Joanne (Jaskolski) Poppe, was born Aug. 21, 1949, in Ashland. She graduated from Hayward High School in 1967. She also graduated from Eau Claire School of Cosmetology in 1973 and earned a legal assistant degree from the Eau Claire District technical school in 1984. For many years, she was employed by Telemark Ski Lodge in Cable and followed with jobs for Sawyer County before moving to Hudson. Friends said that her interest outside the office included collecting and restoring antiques, her home, her dog and her husband. Funeral services were held Saturday at the United Methodist Church in Hudson. She was buried in Greenwood Cemetery in Hayward. Jon Echternacht can be reached at [email protected] © 2003 Hudson Star-Observer - Reposted by permission http://www.hudsonstarobserver.com/main.asp?Search=1&ArticleID=8655&SectionID=3&SubSectionID=83&S=1