Cheryl Ann Ess

Cheryl Ann Ess, was born on January 30th, 1959 to Frank and Isabel (Fernandez) Passeck in Waterbury, Connecticut. She departed this life on May 20, 2020 with family by her side in Buffalo, MO. She was 61 years old at the time of her passing.

Before making her home in Missouri, Cheryl’s earlier life was spent in Vermont. She was married to Kevin Ess for 24 years, and two children were born of this marriage, Ryan Thomas Ess and Nicole Lynn Ess-Bryan. Cheryl stayed home to raise her children in the early years of their lives, then went on to work for the local school.

As a family, they moved to Long Lane, MO in 1996 to be closer to her mom and sister Melissa, husband Brian, and children Sara, Michelle, & Matthew McClendon, whom Cheryl loved so very much. She also despised the cold Vermont winters and longed for a more mild climate — if you knew her, you knew she was always, always cold.

Cheryl always had a soft spot in her heart for animals. She loved horses, horseback riding, dogs, and had a passion for being an advocate for voiceless animals. She found her way in to rescue work, volunteering so many hours of her life into helping any and all dogs that she could. She spent countless weekends at Petsmart helping to find the perfect family for abandoned dogs. Not only did she work the adoption side, she fostered dogs (and sometimes cats), helped to teach them manners, show them love, and to hopefully prepare them for a forever home. She was a part of hundreds of animals finding loving homes. She was proud of her animal rescue work — and her family was proud of her for it too.

Aside for animal rescue, Cheryl really shined as a wedding venue manager. She took great pride in her work — always putting in more than necessary to make everything as perfect as she could for all of those brides and grooms.

Something she found even more love and passion for, was when she became a GaGa to her grandsons. She wasn’t a hugger and didn’t express her love often — but when it came to these little guys, life was different. Beau Lucas and Dak Carter loved their GaGa immensely.

Cheryl was preceded in death by her parents, her sister Melissa McClendon, and brother Steve Pike.

She is survived by her son, Ryan Ess, daughter Nicole Bryan and husband Chad, her grandsons Beau and Dak Bryan, as well as siblings Valorie Whitford, Ray (Iggy) Pike and wife Michele Wildflower, and Dave Pike, along with a host of nieces, nephews, and great-nieces.

A celebration of life lunch to honor Cheryl is planned for May 31st, at 1:30pm at her favorite spot by the creek at her daughter’s farm, located at 78 Golden Ponds Rd, Urbana, MO. Friends and family are invited to join.