Obituary of Cheryl Lynn Bowman Blackwell

Cheryl Lynn Bowman Blackwell, of Columbia, SC died June 12, 2020 at Prisma Health Richland Hospital, the same hospital where she dedicated her entire forty-year career as a pediatric nurse.

Cheryl was born at Langley Air Force Base in Hampton, Virginia on October 7, 1958, the first daughter of Eula and Robert Bowman. Cheryl’s father was Active Duty U.S. Air Force and she and her family were stationed and lived all over the world, including Smryna, Tennessee (Stewart AFB), Warner Robins, Georgia (Robins AFB), Minot, North Dakota (Minot AFB) and the Philippines (Clark AFB). The family settled in Columbia in 1974 upon her dad’s retirement from the Air Force. Cheryl was a 1976 Bicentennial Graduate of Spring Valley High School. She went on to nursing school and became a registered nurse, like her mother. Cheryl began working at Richland Memorial Hospital in Columbia. Her greatest passions in life were her family and her nursing career.

Cheryl devoted her life to nursing, specifically pediatric nursing. Thousands of babies and children were blessed to have her care. This loving and gifted angel treated each one like they were the most special child in world. She tirelessly worked in the NICU, pediatric ward, and the pediatric clinic at Richland Memorial Hospital. She enriched the lives of the children she cared for and the staff she worked with over her forty-year career as a nurse. It was more than a job for Cheryl, it was a calling, a mission, a labor of love.

Cheryl is survived by the shining lights of her life: beloved daughter, Jennifer Blackwell Simmons and husband Jesse Doyle Simmons III of Columbia, SC and their four children, Cheryl’s four precious grandchildren; Jeffrey, Jenna, Julie and Jacob and her best buddy, her dog Cocoa. She also left behind a sister Cynthia Bowman and brother Robert Bowman, Jr. She was preceded in death by her loving parents Eula Jones Bowman and Robert Lee Bowman and brother Ronald Bowman.

Cheryl was a loving and awesome niece, aunt, granddaughter and cousin.She had many aunts, uncles, cousins and nephews. She was a blessing to her many wonderful friends whom she dearly loved and stayed close to in Columbia and all around the country and world. Cheryl was always thinking of others and wanting to help others whenever she could. She will be greatly missed. There will be a huge void here on earth but heaven is rejoicing!

A memorial service to celebrate Cheryl’s life will be held at a later date. Cheryl will be interred near her parents and grandparents in the historic Mt. Lebanon Cemetery in Kentucky.