Cherie Y. Townsend Elias (Welch), 87, of Reading, PA, passed away Monday, January 25, peacefully in the company of family at Reading Hospital & Medical Center, West Reading. The widow of Thomas S. Elias, who died August 4, 2008, she was predeceased by her first husband, Joseph C. Townsend, on March 30, 1992.
Cherie was born in Reading, PA, on August 30, 1928, daughter of the late Violet (Noll) and William Welch.
She graduated from Central Catholic High School and was a member of St. Paul's
Roman Catholic Church. Cherie served in the U.S. Navy in the Korean Era and worked as an Administrative Assistant to the Principals at Chaminade Preparatory School for Boys in Hollywood, FL, where she lived for over 27 years.
She had a talent for sewing, loved to dance to the music of the 1940s, and enjoyed working in the garden and decorating her homes. Thomas and Cherie moved to Hendersonville, NC, in 2006. She returned to Reading, PA, in 2010 to live with her daughter, Sheri.
Cherie is survived by 3 children: daughters, Sheri L. Wallmeier, wife of Manfred, of Reading, PA; and Judith A. Townsend, partner of Marianne Michelin, of Hendersonville, NC; and a son, Joseph P. Townsend, husband of Carmela, of West Reading, PA.
She was predeceased by a son, Terry Townsend, who died May 28, 2010.
She is survived by 2 grandchildren, Heidi C. Wallmeier, fiancée of Julie Streeter, of Atlanta, GA; and Kimberly A. Coleman, wife of Jason, of Reading, PA; and 2 great-grandchildren, Isaac F. and Marin J. Coleman.
She is also survived by 2 step-sisters, Pat Arnao of Bluffton, SC, and Jolene Fountain of Woodstock, GA; 4 step-daughters; and 6 step-sons.
She was predeceased by one step-son, Joseph Elias.
Friends and relatives are invited to call on Monday, February 1, from 9 - 9:30 a.m., at Feeney Funeral Home. Funeral procession will leave the funeral home at 9:30 a.m. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at St. Paul's Roman Catholic Church, Reading, PA, at 10 a.m., on Monday, February 1.
In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made in her name to St. Paul's Roman Catholic Church, 151 N. 9th Street, Reading, PA 19601.
Interment at Gethsemane Cemetery Reading, PA.
Arrangements entrusted to the John P. Feeney Funeral Home, in Reading's Centre Park Historic District. 625 N. 4th St. at Centre Ave. (Route 61), Reading, PA 19601. Obituary, directions and condolences at www.johnfeeneyfuneralhome.com.
