Obituary of Cheryl P. Thomas

Cheryl Thomas, 77, of Honesdale passed away Saturday evening, April 9, 2022 at Wayne Memorial Hospital, surrounded by her family. She was the wife of David Thomas of Honesdale for 54 years. Cheryl is survived by her son Jeffrey Thomas and his wife Christine of Hyde Park, NY and their children Alex and Abby, her daughter Jennifer Thomas, and her husband James of Grafton, MA and their children Luke, Matthew and Eleanor Thomas. She is also survived by many nieces, nephews and cousins. Cheryl was born in Hazelton, PA on July 17, 1944, daughter of the late Arthur and Berniece Pickenheim of Tamaqua. She is pre-deceased by her brother Paul Pickenheim and his wife Janice, and her sister-in-law Marion Pickenheim. She is survived by her brother Ronald Pickenheim. She is also pre-deceased by her sister-in-law Arlene Perri and her husband Donald. Cheryl graduated from Tamaqua High School and East Stroudsburg State College. She married David Thomas in 1967. She taught first grade and then GED at Wappingers Central School District and BOCES, in Wappingers Falls, NY where they lived until retirement. In 2000, Dave and Cheryl retired to the Thomas family farm in Honesdale and opened an antique store. They did a lot of traveling both in the US and in Europe. Cheryl was a member of Bethany United Methodist Church, Bethany Women's Group, the Red Hat Society, the YMCA, and she volunteered at Dessin Animal Shelter. She belonged to a group of women at church that made sleeping bags for the homeless and served as Queen in her Red Hat group for many years. She had many hobbies including cross stitch, quilting, working with stained glass, reading, gardening,and traveling. She loved organizing block parties for her Quiet Acres neighborhood and planning family reunions. The later leading her to do research on her German family and Dave's English roots. Over everything else she loved her family. She loved when her family all came for fair week where they entered many entries. Her children and grandchildren always made her smile. A memorial service will be held at 12:00 Noon on next Friday, April 22, 2022 in the Bethany United Methodist Church. There will be a visitation at the church on Friday from 11:00 am to Noon. Memorial contributions may be made to Bethany United Methodist Church, 3 Court Street, Bethany PA 18431, or to Green Grove Cemetery c/o Warner Stark, 9 Gillette Drive , Waymart, PA, 18472 or to Dessin Animal Shelter, 138 Miller Drive, Honesdale, PA 18431. Arrangements are under the care of the Arthur A Bryant Funeral Home in Honesdale.