Back in school at St. Joseph's, my academics were a little wayward. Cher recognized my inconsistency and asked to meet my parents. I thought it would be like any other parent teacher meeting where the teacher would use it as an opportunity to "discipline" the student by giving unflattering accounts of the student's behavior to the parent. But I was wrong. Cher didn't want to get me in trouble, she didn't complain about me once. She spoke about my strengths and formulated a study plan for me with my parents that would help me perform better in my academics. She even suggested what times I should eat my meals and what I should snack on so I can study long hours for my board exams. She genuinely cared.

I am very sorry to hear this news. Cher, you will never be forgotten. I think of myself as lucky to have been a student of yours. 

What comes to mind when I think of Cheryl is the ease with which she churned out dish after delectable dish – cakes, pies, tarts, eclairs, jams, pickles, chutneys, exotic Oriental platters, hearty Goan delicacies, spicy south Indian delights, and exquisite Lucknowi fare. When it came to culinary skills, Cheryl was in a league all of her own, a born adventurer with a zest for sourcing out the original and most authentic recipes. Ordinary humble everyday ingredients were elevated to masterpieces in her hands and the dinner table always flowed with oohs and aahs as we bit into some crispy batter fried Bombay duck, munched on her special Thai crunch salad, or smacked our lips as we savoured her Bangalore special sambar.

The Godin clan dinner table resounds with ‘Cheryl yarns’ and the all-time favorite is how she figured out the intricacies of special signature dishes of famous restaurants by watching closely as they were made and then chatting with the cook to find out more! In fact, we always marveled at how cakes, pickles and pies materialized out of thin air while we sat chatting with her. Never one to sit still, she could keep everyone in splits while regaling us with stories from her inexhaustible source, all the while conjuring up some edible delights. Leslie and I still cannot get over the time when Cheryl and Mario visited us in Sharjah and she prepared the most delicious prawn balchao, literally within an hour. She definitely knew how to leave her mark wherever she went and her effervescence was the champagne of our family.

Today, she is not physically present with us, but her legacy is alive in the form of the wonderful recipes and cooking tips and hacks she shared. An amazing daughter, a wonderful sister, an inspiring sis-in-law, beautiful wife, and a loving mum – Cheryl was all that and more. Here’s to you, Cheryl! I’m sure you’re having the most awesome time cooking up a lip-smacking feast in heaven! Till we meet again there!

Mice,15th May, 2015

Mrs Cheryl Ann D’Souza

14 Dec 1960 - 02 Feb 2015

Sherwood High was raised in Feb 2010 with Mrs Cheryl Ann D’Souza as its first Principal. With a will to win and a desire to achieve academic excellence she transformed a majestic building into a vibrant educational institution.

She was a person of outstanding ability, remarkable accomplishment and one who had a passion for education. Above all she was a woman of great compassion with an immense love for children. She radiated positive energy through all adversity, her infectious smile never leaving her. William Ward said “Adversity causes some men to break, others to break records”. Mrs Cheryl Ann D’Souza broke all records.

She coined the phrase “Sherwood High is a caring school” and she lived every moment of her life displaying that immense caring not only for the students whom she loved, but the teachers and staff as well. This phrase has been ingrained in the school’s philosophy and will always remain an integral part of Sherwood High

Legacies are measured in the quality of memories evoked by the name. Mrs D’Souza leaves behind memories etched in the minds of all those who came into contact with her. Some excerpts from parents are listed below

What a wonderful soul!

. While feeling sad, I am reminded of her spirited and beautiful being. I met her when I moved to India and was looking for a school for my daughter.. In the following years I witnessed the sheer confidence, joy and caring she exhibited all around her. She made the school and everyone around feel at ease.

                                                                                                                   Manisha Verma

Always smiling and cheerful, had a certain positive infectious energy and aura that surrounded her. Forever open to suggestions, was very approachable. Our memories of you picture of you will always keep you alive in out hearts and minds..

                                                                                                                  Shalini Johri

Will be loved and missed by all. Ma'am has touched our hearts in many ways. Always filled with positive energy and lots of love. We would meet her at every PTM's and I would always feel like home. May the Almighty Allah bless her soul.

                                                                                                                  Fauzia Hussain

New Generation Principal

Mrs Cheryl D'Souza was the true new generation Principal - open.. approachable, Warm, considerate and very responsive. The principals of the other high flying schools have a lot to learn from her on how to be a "New Generation" - approachable Principal. A very inspiring.. well spoken Principal indeed

                                                                                                               Pallavi Muralidhara

Loving, Caring and Energetic

These are the words that come to mind involuntarily the moment I think of Cheryl. She was so approachable, vibrant with a warm smile always and exuded positivity all around her. It was not just about academics, she always gave importance to make the kids good citizens. Her value education and one liners will be cherished forever.

                                                                                                               Kavita Kappagal

May the force be with you

We were sold on the idea of Sherwood the minute we met Cheryl mam. When mam told us of her affliction, she still showed tremendous confidence and poise. Mam: your spirit's very much in the DNA of this school, and it will drive it to greater glory.

                                                                                                               Sumit Jeloka

She was the Foundation!

Mrs.Cheryl will always be remembered as one of the strongest people i know of. She fought such a battle with Cancer and I never seem to have heard of her going down without a fight.. She was a fine lady and a dynamite for parents and children alike. Rest In Peace and every time you look down from heaven, send us your love....

                                                                                                                Deepthi Vinod

No fuss, no seeking acknowledgement, dear Cheryl twice did something for me, unasked, that was of much consequence. The second time made a change whose effect is still operative. 
I had begun to write not just a comic rhyme, or brief rhymes on some occasion, but lines I wasn't confident enough to call poems. How the subject came up in conversation with Cheryl I don't recall. I had collected some of my writing as a "Ragbag of Prose & Verse - or Worse", and Cheryl asked if she might borrow my printed out  copy. By and by I received a call from a lady whose name was known to me, which led to the setting up of a meeting with a publisher, and ended by eight of my scribbles being included in an anthology of poems released that year in this city. I was even asked to read at the book launch a "poem" selected from those eight. In effect, I had written "poems", not "verse or worse".

The whole had come about through Cheryl's quiet workings - and "oh, the difference to me" (to quote out of context, as Cheryl would have recognised with a smile)! 
 
How many times since God took her home the thought has struck me, "I wish I could show this to Cheryl". She had an intelligence and ability of her own that didn't prevent her from spontaneously, generously, selflessly - and silently - advancing the best interests of others. That's a rare quality. 

-Maj. RP Singh

Young Cheryl was smiling and glowing when I met her with her loving, caring husband, leaving the CC two days ago.
"How are you feeling? Looks like you are responding well to the (cancer) treatment," I observed.
"No, its not working,' she informed me.
I was saddened, but perked up, "Look at you! You are amazing! Glowing and smiling!" I remarked. She was, you know.
"When it comes to a choice between life and death," Cheryl responded with a bright and genuine smile, "I choose to live." 
Arm in arm, still smiling, Mario and Cheryl left the club.

-Ash Lobo Desai 

Friends,

If I stand here today it is only to honour Cheryls request made some time ago and that was that should she pass away before me she would love to hear me for the last time in the church. However if this brief eulogy is marred by grammatical errors it is only because my English teacher is not around to correct it.

As I walked down the aisle today with Cheryl, in very different circumstances, I could not but help wonder—why her? It is a question she asked of me repeatedly and I guess I gave her no satisfactory answer except perhaps think that Gods need for her was greater than ours.

What does one say about a woman who was a loving daughter, a role model for her brothers, who gave her all, especially her time, for her children and who walked by my side for 29 long years. Quite obviously it would be difficult to fit it all in a few minutes today but two facets of her personality deserve special mention.

As the principal of Sherwood High she was often asked by prospective parents as to what made Sherwood High different from the 23 other schools in the near vicinity. Her response would be “because we are a caring school”. That caring extended into every aspect of her life. From the little animal kingdom we had at home, the society dog who was fed every evening to the persons she came in contact with. Infact it became common practice for our friends to give her a doggie bag of bones as a take home gift whenever we visited them. She was always there for anyone who needed her assistance, be it writing a speech, sharing a recipe, helping a child understand Shakespeare or offering a shoulder to lean on.

The second was the positive energy she radiated through all adversity, her infectious smile never leaving her. She was really put to the test in Dec 2013 when a CT scan threw up frightening news. It shook us. But by the end of Jan 2014 Cheryl was addressing parents at the school Annual Day. And that carried on till her last major event on 22nd Nov where she presided over her School Sports day. It did not end there for a week later she was baking cakes for Christmas in anticipation for the friends who would drop by to wish us. Finally on 24th of last month she mustered up the strength to sing happy birthday to Charmaine! William Ward said---Adversity causes some men to break; others to break records. In my books Cheryl broke all records.

Dearest Cheryl:

The Lord brought you to Mario, and Mario to you.

And the blessing of your two lives has spilt over and touched the lives of countless others—ripples of love and generosity that have spread from the centre bringing blessing, laughter, and joy in their wake.

I first met you in the December of 1986 in Lucknow. Verne was an unusually content three-month old then. I was immediately struck by your beauty. The beauty, I soon discovered, was more than a surface affair—you were the embodiment of grace and generosity: a grace that could not be contained by just the way you walked or talked; a generosity that continually and unstintingly poured a contagious joy into the lives of others.

The LORD has blessed you with an inner grace, and that showed itself in graciousness. If there is one thing that shone out at Lucknow, and continues to shine out to this day it is how gracious you are. If friendships have come to you easily, friendships that have endured the rigours, the ups and downs of everyday life, they have done so because you have lived and modelled graciousness. Life’s adversities far from diminishing it have only added and enhanced this stellar trait.

Legacies, Cheryl, are not be measured by the pearls and diamonds one leaves behind—it is to be measured in the quality of memories evoked by the name. Yours will ever be coupled, in my book, with that twinkling smile, that infectious laugh, that easy banter, those lighting quips, extended soliloquies, (where do I stop) . . . . Helen and I consider ourselves very blessed. In giving you to Mario, the LORD could not have given us a better sister-in-law.

-Derek D'Souza

* Family always comes first, no matter what.
* Kindness goes a long way.
* There is no substitute for hard work.
* It isn't about what you want to do. It's about what you have to do.
* A bit of faith and courage can take you a long way.
* Smile through all adversities.
* If you really like something, pick it up at that time.
* Never leave home without sorting out a fight.
* The dog will always be the most obedient child.
* Beat all odds!

-Charmaine D'Souza