A Mass of Christian Burial celebrating the life of Cheri Ann (Bishofberger) Grigsby, 75, of Newark, will be held at St. Leonard Catholic Church, 11:00 a.m., Friday, Nov. 22, 2019, with Fr. Bill Hritsko as celebrant. Friends and family may call at the church for one hour prior to the Mass.
Cheri died at the Selma Markowitz Care Center of Hospice of Central Ohio on Thursday, Nov. 7, 2019, following a 23-year fight against cancer, which she oftentimes did while wearing her tiara. She was born in Springfield, Ohio on Aug. 9, 1944 to the late Louis and Margaret Eva (Shumate) Bishofberger.
A 1962 graduate of Jackson High School, Cheri completed courses at the Patricia Gaines School of Drama with dreams of crossing the stages of New York City. She worked as a telephone operator with the Newark Telephone Company and was the owner and operator of Secondhand Rose, a consignment shop formerly located in downtown Newark. Most recently, Cheri was retired from Hopewell Federal Credit Union. A longtime parishioner of St. Leonard Catholic Church, Cheri was also involved with the Red Hat Society, Delta Sigma Chi Sorority, served as an usher at the Midland Theater, and participated in countless Twentieth Century Flyers. Cheri was also a volunteer with TWIG at Licking Memorial Hospital.
It is no secret that Cheri went through her adult life with multiple personalities. What began as a joke, to surprise the former Heath Police Chief, prompted the birth of “Miss Piggy” and Cheri’s infamous career of “ballooning”, eventually dubbed Pig-O-Grams. Cheri’s creativity exploded as did her notoriety. From birthday parties, parades, retirements, or to cheer up one visiting the hospital, Cheri traveled throughout Ohio surprising unsuspecting individuals with a bouquet of balloons, a personalized poem, and her infectious laugh. Miss Piggy, Nettie the Nightmare, Bubbles the Ballerina, and Janey Fonda Food were all characters created, perfected, and performed without inhibition. Although Newark may have been just a pit-stop on her way to the lights of Broadway, Cheri definitely fulfilled her dreams of performing, and most importantly bringing a smile to someone’s face. Cheri was an avid shoe, purse, and accessories collector. Cheri was always dressed to the hilt and always had to have matching shoes for the outfit in question.
She will be greatly missed by her husband and best friend of 55 years, Dale L. Grigsby; her sons and daughters-in-law, Nicholas Drew (Sheri Duval) Grigsby, and Heath L. (Aimee) Grigsby; grandchildren, Erika Grigsby and her mother Tessa Thomas, Jacob Grigsby, and Dallas Moran; many nieces and nephews including several that considered Cheri a second mother, Amy (Grigsby) Keller, Carrie Grigsby, Michael Grigsby and Kristen (Grigsby) Schroeder; and her sisters, longtime friends from school who affectionately called themselves the “Virgins of ‘62”, Dorothy Riepenhoff, Rose Lynn Motsch, and Marilyn Herman. Cheri is also survived by a countless number of friends, especially her two dear friends Randi McLaughlin, and Colleen Nipps. Cheri is also survived by her nephew Dave (Bonnie) Grigsby, her special cousins Chip (Cathy) Wiskirchen, Tim (Sherry) Wirkirchen, Jim (Laura) Shumate, and Jennifer (Shumate) Allen.
In addition to her parents, Cheri was preceded in death by her son, Jeffrey Dale Grigsby.
The family would like to extend their sincere thanks to the staff of The Ohio State University, James Cancer Hospital Solove Research Institute, Licking Memorial Hospital Vascular Unit, and Hospice of Central Ohio for the care and devotion they showed Cheri and her family during all these difficult times. In place of flowers, the family requests that donations be made in Cheri’s name to the Foundation for Hospice of Central Ohio, P.O. Box 430, Newark, Ohio 43058; the Licking County Humane Society, 825 Thornwood Drive SW, Heath, Ohio 43056; or the JHS Class of 62 Scholarship Fund, c/o Carolyn Evans McCormick, 215 Lewis Street, Jackson, Ohio 45640.