Cheryl Bilancia

Cheryl F. Bilancia Gollihugh passed away gracefully and peacefully on November 1st after her 4 month battle with colon cancer.

Born in Passaic, New Jersey, Cheryl was the perfect mix of her Italian father Phillip Bilancia and Polish mother Laura Bilancia. Throughout her lifetime she enjoyed loving and teasing her older brothers, Richard and Bruce.

Cheryl's passion for life led her through many adventures with her cousins and friends along the Jersey Shore and MANY Bruce Springsteen concerts. Her motivated spirit allowed her to excel in the business world and land a job working for Westinghouse in her early years. As a successful, strong business woman she still took the time to love her family and friends. Plus, she always made time to take a step back and relax in the sun with her toes in the sand.

In 1985 Cheryl met the love of her life, Mark Gollihugh, in Sherman Oaks, California. No one on this Earth could make her laugh quite like Mark did. They basked in the sun, went on frequent bike rides, and even fished together. After three years of happiness they decided to expand the family. They compromised and settled down between their two coasts in Littleton, Colorado.

Cheryl undertook the hardest job of all time; becoming a stay at home parent. Her first daughter, Casey was born in 1989 and her youngest, Jody followed in 1993. Being the smart business woman that she was, she still found ways to challenge herself as a stay-at-home-mom. She worked for companies including Pampered Chef, Tupperware, Longaberger, and more. Cheryl became the Roxborough Elementary PTIC president and organized dozens of events, including 17+ book fairs. It is hard to find someone in the Roxborough community that has not heard of Cheryl and her accomplishments over the years.

Cheryl and her family took many vacations, including a trip on a house boat in 1999 to Flaming Gorge. During the day she would sunbathe while Mark would fish with the girls, and by night she would read scary campfire stories. Their most recent trip to Santa Barbara in 2014 was probably the most memorable; they enjoyed spending time together as a family under the sun. Brophy Brother's was their hot spot!

Later in life she worked as a Beauty Consultant for Boots Beauty which allowed her to meet one of her best friends Diana. Together they held the top market in the US and Cheryl won many awards including International Beauty Advisor of 2013, which she accepted in London.

She would brag about her family to all those that would listen. Once her girls were grown, they continued to seek her counsel and cherish her wisdom. They made frequent trips back to the house to socialize, play games, and visit with their fun mother. Cheryl was the life of the party; EVERY party.

Family always remained a top priority for Cheryl. Her visits with her cousins contained many forms of laughter. However, her gatherings with Michelle and Wayne were generally planned around Bruce Springsteen concerts.

During her treatments many came to help Cheryl fight her unexpected diagnoses. Her family would like to take this time to thank them all, and in particular show their deepest gratitude to their living angel: Laura Durkee.

Cheryl always exhibited true love for her closest family and friends. She passed on her caring, forgiving, trusting, and fun loving nature to her kids. Ask anyone; in short she was fun, funny, caring, strong, and motivated! She never stopped fighting and definitely never stopped believing!

Cheryl is survived by her beloved husband Mark, their two young daughters Casey and Jody, her eldest brother Richard, and her mother Laura.

But most of all Cheryl loved living, laughing, and loving! Please think of her when the summer sun shines bright in the sky.

Cheryl's Quotes:
"Family comes first"
"I love you always!"
"Pull them in closer"
"Be better than that"
"Where are you, Honey?"

Memorial Service, Sunday, November 13, 2016, 1:00pm, Horan and McConaty Family Chapel, 1091 South Colorado Blvd.