1/20/1958 – 6/4/2023
Lawrence, KS
Cheryl Virginia Weaver was born on January 20, 1958 and passed away on June 4, 2023. She died in her own bed, in her own home, surrounded by family.
Cheryl Weaver (born Cheryl Virginia Rawlings) was born in Wichita, KS and spent here early years in Springfield, MO. Her family moved to Overland Park where she went to Junior High School, then attended Shawnee Mission East. After graduation she went to University of Missouri for one semester as a journalism major before making a smart decision and transferring to the University of Kansas. It was there she met her husband to be, changed her major to theatre, and took the Theatre Department by storm. Lawrence would become an important part of her life.
Upon graduation, Cheryl and her husband Doug moved to Dallas, Texas. There she began working in the theatre, along with countless survival jobs. Included in that list was a two-year stint selling shoes at Lord and Taylor. She worked in just about every theatre the metroplex had to offer… Stage West, Dallas Theatre Center, Circle Theatre, Theatre Three, Fort Worth Shakespeare Festival, and Addison Center Theatre among many others. She also gave birth to her son Ian, thus making him a native Texan, which seemed important to so many people she knew.
From there, Cheryl, Doug and Ian moved to East Lansing, Michigan: Doug to go to Grad School and Cheryl to be an actress. She worked at The Purple Rose Theatre in Chelsea, Michigan, owned by actor Jeff Daniels. She also went back to school at MSU to work on her Masters. The ridiculously cold winters eventually took their toll on the small Cheryl, so the family picked up and moved—leaving behind a marvelous set of friends they had grown to know and love—to find the right place to mix work and bringing up Ian. The family settled on Lawrence, Kansas. It was like going home again.
In Lawrence, Doug continued his Grad studies, and Cheryl threw herself into the Kansas City Theatre and Film world. Over the course of the last 30 years, she became a mainstay on Kansas City stages. During that time, she worked at The Unicorn Theatre, The New Theatre, Kansas City Repertory Theatre (formerly Missouri Rep), Kansas City Actor’s Theatre, Spinning Tree, The Coterie, Musical Theatre Heritage, Heart of America Shakespeare, The Seem-To-Be Players, EARTh, and so many others. She also found wonderful representation with Exposure Talent and found time to work in Seattle, San Francisco, Atlanta, and New York. She made many movies and TV shows including Gone in The Night, Truman, Ride with The Devil, and Kansas City, working for world class directors Ang Lee and Robert Altman. She was a proud member of both Equity and SAG/Aftra, the actor’s stage and screen unions. She also spent the last fifteen years working in Standardized Patient, helping young Doctors become better at the human side of Medicine. She both loved the work and the people she was surrounded by.
As an actress, Cheryl was non-pareil. There were many things, though, that took up her time and her boundless energy. She was an amazing Mother and a wonderful wife and partner. She was an avid gardener and a superb cook. She was a gifted painter. Her house is adorned with her works. She was a fine writer and appeared in many publications. Cheryl was a political junkie, a voracious reader, and a skilled flower arranger for friends and family weddings, etc. And she was a Jayhawk Basketball FAN. Through the years, she had an abundance of pets… but most certainly loved her last two dogs, Frankie and Mickey, with all of her heart.
Cheryl was a person of grace, beauty, humor, creativity, strong work ethic, wit, intelligence and a seemingly bottomless well of life energy. She had an enormous heart. She had an absolute belief that people should be free to be whatever they wanted to be, love whoever they wanted to love, and be happy in their life. She didn’t just say it, she acted on it.
Cheryl was preceded in death by her Mother Helen Gregory Rawlings and her Mother-in-Law Nancy Doty Weaver. She is survived by her Husband Doug Weaver and her Son and Daughter-in-Law Ian and Marla Weaver. She is also survived by her Father Brian Rawlings, her Father-in-Law Doug Weaver Sr. and her two Brothers Mike Rawlings and Pat Rawlings, as well as her Sister and Brother-in-Law Amy Polonchek and Matt Weaver, and beloved Cousins, Nieces and Nephews.
There will be two Celebrations of Life for Cheryl. The first will be in Lawrence, Friday, the 14th of July at 4pm, on the Crafton-Pryor Stage in Murphy Hall on the campus at the University of Kansas. The second will be in Kansas City, Sunday the 16th of July at 4pm, at Kansas City Young Audiences.
In lieu of flowers, the family hopes you will consider donating to https://gofund.me/36d7c991.
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