Cheryel Lee Reyhons, 82, died peacefully Wednesday, January 29, 2025, surrounded by her family.
Visitation will be Monday, February 3, 2025, from 4-7:00 p.m. at Lensing Funeral Home in Iowa City followed by cremation. A private family committal service will be at a later date.
Cheryel was born October 2,1943 in Iowa City, the daughter of Leonard and Camille “Cornie” (Volk)
Reyhons. After graduating from Solon High School, Cheryel spent two years at Grailville College in Ohio. She moved to Rochester, New York for a short time and then moved back to Iowa. She worked at Procter & Gamble in Iowa City for a couple of years and then moved to Phoenix. While there, she got married, got pregnant, and got divorced. While pregnant she moved back to Iowa to raise her son Jay.
Cheryel worked for her dad for a couple of years at the Amoco fertilizer plant in Solon, driving a spreader truck and filling ammonia tanks along with part time work as a garbage man for her uncle Earl. Later she started a regular job working as a secretary at the University of Iowa Hospitals. She worked in various departments but primarily in the orthopedics and radiology departments. She made several friends during her 24 years working there and after putting up with the politics of being a state worker, retired early in 2001.
Cheryel enjoyed watching Jay grow up, serving as his “Mather,” teaching him everything from cooking to home repairs. She loved watching him play trombone in the band, especially at Iowa State University, while he studied interior design. Her favorite memory was traveling to Rome, Italy while Jay was studying abroad for a semester.
While retired, Cheryel would travel to Arizona in her camper for the winter to hang out with old friends and her brother Tom. She assisted on various local Habitat for Humanity house projects as well as with building the round barn in Solon. She was not an avid golfer but enjoyed hitting the course with her cousin Mikki, which was more searching for balls, then actual golfing.
Cheryel went twice to Africa with a group from the local church to a sister parish in Tanzania. They took medical and other supplies for those in need. She said It was a life altering experience to see the beautiful country, beautiful people, and the goat meat wasn’t bad either.
Cheryel’s main love was her family, her son Jay, his wife Paula, and her joy, their son Collin. She loved watching him play baseball and play the same trombone Jay played. Cheryel was a big influence in the lives of her nieces and nephews, their children, and their children as if they were her own grandchildren. She will always be known for her drive to help in any way, whether it was refinishing antique furniture to helping family members clean and paint their new house.
Cheryel is survived by her son, Jay Reyhons, daughter-in-law Paula, and grandson Collin Reyhons of Ankeny; her siblings, Ardeth Wray of Sutliff, Bernita (Marvin) Stastny of Solon, Tom Naughton of Iowa City, Este (Chip) Weeces of Solon, and Francine Snyder of Arkansas; and many loving nieces, nephews, and large extended family.
She was preceded in death by her parents Leonard and Camille Reyhons; sister Donna Naughton, brother Tom Reyhons; and brother-in-law, Don Wray.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be directed to The Grail in the US, 931 O’Bannonville Rd, Loveland, Ohio 45140 – https://www.grail-us.org/ or to the Iowa Valley Habitat for Humanity, 350 6th Ave SE, Cedar Rapids, Iowa, 52401. – https://www.iowavalleyhabitat.org/
Online condolences at www.lensingfuneral.com