Cheryl Wood Hildreth, 74, died peacefully at Lexington Community Hospice House on December 31, 2023. She was born June 7, 1949 in Macon, Georgia to Zola Gordia Thompson Wood and Judson Newman "JN" Wood. She was the eldest of their three children. Cheryl was a graduate of Miller High School in Macon, GA. She moved to Columbia, SC in 1976, where she was a stay-at-home mother to daughter Amy. She returned to school in her 40s to become a registered nurse, graduating from Midlands Technical College. After a brief time working at Palmetto Baptist Hospital, she joined the team at Midlands Orthopedics, where she worked for almost 20 years until retirement. She was known as a caring and compassionate nurse who excelled at listening to her patients. After retirement, Cheryl (known as "GiCi" to her grandsons), moved to Winston-Salem, North Carolina to be closer to her daughter, son-in-law, and twin grandsons. She was overjoyed to return to Columbia with her family just a few brief months ago.

Cheryl is survived by daughter, Amy Hildreth and son-in-law Herbert Krabel and grandsons Simon and Max Krabel of Columbia, S.C. as well as brother-in-law Larry Tomlinson and nieces Dawn T. Sikes and Melissa Wood. She was preceded in death by her parents and her beloved sister and brother Joy Wood Tomlinson and James Newman Wood.

Cheryl was a loving and steadfast friend. Notably, she was just as kind to her patients and to complete strangers as she was to her friends and family. She found great joy in conversation with new and old friends alike and had a gift for remembering the smallest details about the family and lives of those she knew. She had an infectious laugh. Her favorite activities were traveling to celebrate milestones with family and "the Birthday Girls", watching funny movies, talking on the phone, especially with her friends Barbara, Gynn, and Linda, playing mini golf with Max, and reading alongside Simon. Simon and Max loved to teach her about Minecraft and their other video game interests. She was known for her love of sending greeting cards for even the most obscure holiday and never forgot a birthday or anniversary. She arrived at the hospice facility with a full box of thank you notes, ready to express gratitude to others even in the final days of her life.

A memorial service in celebration of Cheryl's life will be held on Friday, January 5th at St. Martin's-in-the-Fields Episcopal Church (5220 Clemson Avenue) at 11am. The family will receive friends immediately following the service. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations can be made to the American Cancer Society.