In tribute: Cherrie Hayden: Working mom, wicked sense of humor

At 74, Clovis real estate agent Cherrie Hayden was still listing homes and had no intention of ever retiring - in fact, "she wouldn't have," according to her son, Scott.

Hayden died Jan. 25 after some ongoing health challenges took an unexpected turn for the worse, her family said.

Her friends and family agree on this: She was a true people person, with a blazing work ethic, a "wicked sense of humor" and a heart that reached out to others in ways that will be forever remembered.

Hayden was born Cheryl Hunker in 1948 in Clovis. Her family lived away from this area for a few years, but returned when young Cherrie was in third grade.

By the time she met her longtime friend Ardeth Leslie at Clovis High School in the early 1960s, Cherrie had mastered the clarinet for Norvil Howell's legendary CHS band.

"She was one of the proudest members of the Wildcat Marching Band that I have ever known," Leslie said.

"Our friendship blossomed over the years," Leslie said, reflecting on a relationship the two shared for more than half a century. "Cherrie was a very generous, caring individual who helped bring fun into this too serious a world."

Cherrie Hunker met Wayne Hayden on a blind date at what was then Alamogordo Lake.

"My father was in the Air Force and his military friend was dating one of Mom's friends and the four of them spent an afternoon at the lake," Scott said. "The rest is history."

Cherrie was always a "working mom," who had jobs outside the home, Scott said, adding he was always proud of her and never minded being a "latchkey kid."

"She loved to work," Scott said. "She was a computer programmer in the beginning - awesome for a woman at that time."

When the job where Cherrie programmed computers for 22 years came to an end in the mid-1990s, she followed local friends into what became her second long career: real estate.

"She had Realtor friends, and it suited her personality," Scott said. "Getting to meet people, show them homes ... help them find their dream home ... she was a people person."

Most of Cherrie's real estate career took place side-by-side with longtime friend and fellow Realtor Gayla Brumfield.

"She was good with computer stuff and paperwork, and I am not," Brumfield said. "The more I got to know her, the more we became friends."

That friendship deepened when Brumfield lost her son in 2018, making her a member of a most unfortunate club that Cherrie had joined in 1979 when she and her husband buried their infant daughter, Heather Michelle.

"From then on, we were kindred spirits," Brumfield said. "How blessed I was to have her as a friend, as a teammate. She was my right-hand person. She was family. She absolutely was."

Brumfield was not the only person Cherrie Hayden reached out to following the death of a child. In fact, at her memorial service last week, the names of those she called her "Steel Magnolia friends" were read aloud.

"The common thread of these, I'm guessing around 20 names, was they were all women who had also lost a child," Ardeth Leslie said, adding that Cherrie was committed to always doing what she could to bring moments to joy to her friends who shared that tragic bond.

Several noted that besides a tender heart, Cherri also had a razor-sharp wit, a penchant for a sarcastic quip, and no hesitation to sprinkle in some salty language should the situation warrant.

"She looked kind of librarian-ish," Brumfield said, "She was not. She was hilarious. She had a great sense of humor ... a little sarcastic ... a LOT sarcastic."

"Her humor - that's what really sticks out," Scott said. "She was always in a good mood and always funny. If she knew you, she'd poke fun at you in the best way."

Scott said his always-organized mother had left "explicit details for what she wanted" for her memorial service, such as music by her favorite performer, Barbra Streisand.

That specifically included Streisand's song "What Matters Most," Scott said. The poignant lyrics read, in part, "It's not how long we held each other's hands/What matters is how well we loved each other."

Cherrie Hayden "was energetic, full of life, the most non-judgmental human being you've ever met," Scott said. "She loved everybody."