Cheryl Lee Gordon Valdez

Cheryl Lee Gordon Valdez
1952 - 2022

Cheryl Lee Gordon Valdez, 69, slipped away quietly with her daughter by her side to join the angels on Sunday evening March 6, 2022. Cheryl was born on October 12, 1952, in a small farming community in WaKeeney, Kansas. She was the oldest of five girls and quickly became a mother to her sisters helping to raise them while her parents worked. Her family attended the First Baptist Church and Bible School which well represented her Swedish roots. Not only was she independent from a young age, but she saved up enough money to buy the first Barbie doll released when she was 8 years old. In high school, she was on student council, sang in the Glee Club, loved swimming and diving, and had a wild side with a rebel soul. But her specialty was academics. She was the one that could ace any test or challenge given to her. Her schoolmates often called her, “Flash,” because of her deep red hair and not surprisingly, she saved up and purchased her first car at the age of 16, a 1961 white Ford Falcon.

She never boasted about living in Washington D.C. while working for the FBI or enlisting in the Marines, but soon found her greatest challenge would be her diagnosis with Multiple Sclerosis and raising her son with disabilities. Fortunately, her journey began when she married her soulmate and companion, Gil R. Valdez, on March 8, 1975. He would take the journey with her until his death by car accident on January 19, 1999. They had a special bond and the determination to never complain or give up. As an avid reader, she found comfort in self-help books and Rev. Billy Graham. But Forensic Files, COPS and America’s Most Wanted were her daytime favorites.

She was a proud grandmother of two girls, Mia and Zoe Shields, and enjoyed their visits over the years while living in assisted living communities in Utah. Although she spent a good portion of her adult life in a wheelchair, she was the most humble, spiritual woman relying on God’s grace to help her through each day.

Cheryl was the daughter of Louella Marie Deringer Gordon and Lewis Ezra Gordon who raised her in both Kansas and Idaho Springs, Colorado. She is preceded in death by her husband (Gil), her parents, two nephews (Jonathan White and Alex Jimenez) of Colorado, and a younger sister, Charlotte Kay Gordon Olsen also of Colorado. She is survived by her sisters Deanna Jimenez (Alfonso), Ida Gordon Billau, Wilma White (Ronald), daughter Bridgette Lee Valdez Shields (Travis), grandkids Mia Logan Shields and Zoe Marin Shields, son Scott Richard Valdez and 11 nieces and nephews.

Our lives are forever touched by all the caregivers who have shown love and compassion to our mom throughout the years. Our sincerest thanks to our family from The Grand of Holladay for helping us create the final chapter she so much deserved.

A Celebration of Life will be held Friday March 11, 2022 at 4:00 p.m. at Larkin Sunset Gardens Chapel, located at 1950 E Dimple Dell Road, Sandy, Utah.

To view the COMPLETED Celebration of Life please click the "Watch Services" button above.