Cheryl Ann Benham, 61, of Rapid City, died Sunday, July 19, surrounded by family and love.

Cheryl was born to the late Robert and Meriam Plank on Jan. 20, 1959, in Junction City, KS. She graduated from Pierre High School in 1977, and after attending Arizona State University, graduated with a BA in Accounting from the University of South Dakota in 1982. She married Bradley George Benham Aug. 1, 1981, and they lived together in Yankton, SD, until moving to Rapid City in 1984.

She was a jack of all trades and worked a number of jobs. Her final position was as Insurance Executive at Dave Schmidt Insurance Agency, which had the namesake of a close friend to Brad and Cheryl, from 1987 to the spring of 2020. She also had many accounting clients on the side (she called them friends) that she assisted with during the little spare time she had.

Cheryl was an extremely active and supportive member of her church, St. Andrews Episcopal Church in Rapid City, volunteering her time in countless ways. Cheryl also loved gardening, going on evening (and morning) walks, reading books, especially by her favorite author, Rosemary Pilcher.

But she most of all simply enjoyed and loved being around her family, whether that was her husband, son and daughter, her son in law, her siblings, all of her extended family, and, maybe most importantly to her (although she'd never say it to her children) her three cherished grandkids, who lovingly called her Nonie.

Cheryl was an exceptional wife, a fantastic mother and sibling and a wonderful grandmother.

Cheryl was preceded in death by her father, Robert Plank, and mother, Meriam Plank, both of Pierre; and two brothers, Larry Plank, of Rapid City, and Robert Plank, of Pierre. She is survived by her loving husband: Brad; two children: Josh Benham and Kaitlin Dahlke (Adam), both of Rapid City; two sisters: Marge Plank, of Sioux Falls, and Linda (Clayton) Baysinger, of Rapid City; one brother: Jim Plank, of Sioux Falls; and three grandchildren: Brooke, James and Isabel Dahlke.

Visitation and remembrance will be held in the outdoor garden at St. Andrews Episcopal Church on Thursday, July 23, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Please wear a mask due to COVID-19.

Funeral services will be at 10 a.m. Friday, July 24, at Canyon Lake Park Shelter #2, 4021 Jackson Blvd. in Rapid City. Attendees are being asked to bring their own chairs for seating, and to wear a mask due to COVID-19.

In lieu of flowers, the family is requesting that donations be made to Cheryl's memorial, with those funds to be given to Feeding South Dakota.