Cheryl Ames Bastow

Cheryl Ames Bastow, 67, much loved daughter, sister, aunt, and friend, died unexpectedly at her home in Yreka on August 23, 2014. Cheryl was joyful, very caring and generous, curious, adventurous, high-spirited, funny, and always willing to lend a helping hand. Born in Springfield, Mass., she was the daughter of Barbara Ames Bastow and George Ellery Bastow. She grew up in South Amherst, Mass., graduated from Amherst Regional High School , and then moved to California to attend Barstow Community College and get her B.A. in sociology at the University of California, Riverside. Working for Social Security in Redding, she had the opportunity to help open the Social Security office in Yreka in 1978. She fell in love with the area and the people and moved to Yreka permanently in 1979, making a home for herself, and later her parents for whom she cared in their last years. Her deep knowledge of Social Security programs enabled her to help colleagues and beneficiaries. She retired from Social Security in 2006 but continued her volunteer work with many community organizations. Cheryl had many interests and hobbies. She loved animals and had many pet dogs and cats over the years. After Cheryl died, Cheryl Weber, for whom she fostered many dogs, took her cherished dogs, Amiga and George, to live with her in Bend, and other friends found a home for her Fat Cat. She enjoyed the out of doors and hiked, camped in the truck she and her Dad customized for this, rafted with friends, and like her Mom, she really liked to garden and she made beautiful ones. She photographed nature, and even enjoyed the deer in her yard although they sometimes ate her roses. She got a kick out of winning ribbons at the Fair for her dahlias and her nature photography. She was an avid Red Sox fan, rarely missed a game, and everyone knew not to call her during one, especially if it was a World Series. She also liked to travel and did a lot of it. She enjoyed heading to Medford and Ashland with friends to shop, go to plays, and have dinner. Like her grandfather and father, she really liked train trips and took many in the US. She visited family and friends around the country, attending holiday family gatherings, birthday parties, graduations, visiting and celebrating. She especially enjoyed wilderness, mountains and the seashore. The National Parks, and places where her friends and relatives were, including North Dakota, Maine, and Alaska, were some of her favorite places. Her first big trip abroad was to Australia for the Olympics and it started her on the path to more such adventures, including several hilarious and adventure-filled European “sister trips” with her two sisters. Throughout her life, Cheryl volunteered regularly for organizations that helped people, animals, and the environment. She was a long time member of the South Yreka Firefighters Auxiliary supporting the So. Yreka Fire District and she served as its president and treasurer. She worked hard for and at the annual rummage sale, always enjoyed the annual appreciation dinner for the firefighters, and took pride, with her fellow members, in the Auxiliary’s fundraising and how it funded a new building, engines, equipment and other needed things. Cheryl began volunteering for the Hospital Auxiliary at the Fairchild Medical Center in 1997 and contributed over 2000 hours of service, working Sundays and holidays in the gift shop where she met and helped many people. She began donating blood to the Shasta Blood Bank in 1985, giving 154 pints in her lifetime, and she volunteered there after she retired. She was a dedicated volunteer for Purr Angles from its start. She also helped the group working to keep the Yreka public library open. Like her Mom, she was a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution and knew many stories about her farming ancestors. Cheryl enriched the lives of many people, frequently visiting and helping older people and others in many ways. As a sympathy note to her family said, “She will be missed by all whose lives she touched.” Cheryl was predeceased by her parents and is survived by her sister, Heather Bastow Weiss of Cambridge, Mass. and her niece, Amity Bastow Weiss of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; her sister Holly Bastow-Shoop and brother-in-law Donald Shoop of Fargo, No. Dakota and her nephews Aaron Waid Shoop of San Diego, Calif. and Jacob Bastow Shoop and his wife Takayla Lightfield of St. Paul, Minn.; and her former brother-in-law and friend, John Weiss of Ithaca, New York. Cheryl loved and was deeply loved by her family. They are grateful that her last trip was a much-enjoyed train trip to South Dakota in May for her nephew’s wonderful wedding with family and many friends by a lake at a magnificent State Park. There, as well as wherever she was, Cheryl met people, listened to their stories, made new friends, helped out, spotted and pointed out interesting things, and always had and helped to create wonderful times. The family is also grateful for the many people who have helped since Cheryl’s death and for the friendships and fun she had in her life in Yreka. There will be a Memorial Service for family and friends to celebrate and remember Cheryl at Girdner Funeral Chapel, 202 So. Oregon Street, in Yreka on Monday, October 6th at 3:30 pm. It will be followed by a reception at the home of Klaus and Louise Miller, at 3434 Easy Street, next to the So. Yreka Fire Dept. In lieu of flowers, donations in Cheryl’s honor can be made to the Cheryl Ames Bastow college scholarship fund at United Scholarships Inc., P.O. Box 1328, Yreka, Calif. 96097 or to organizations where she volunteered.

Cheryl Ames Bastow

May 29, 1947 - August 23, 2014