Cheryl Cross (Ratcliff) Foster

Cheryl Cross (Ratcliff) Foster passed away on Thursday, February 9, 2023, at the age of 56. She was born on March 25, 1966, to Nathan and JoAnn Cross in Beaumont, attending Eugene Field Elementary and Marshall Middle School. She was a 1984 graduate of West Brook High School. In 1988 she graduated from Lamar University with a degree in Interior Design. Shortly after graduation she married her college sweetheart, Teddy Ratcliff, and found employment as a designer with Ethan Allen before becoming a stay-at-home mom with her two boys, Joshua and Chase.

Cheryl and Teddy were blessed with 25 years of marriage until his passing in 2013. As a team they enjoyed rehabbing antique furniture and buying and renovating houses to sell. But their favorite project was building their house acting as their own contractors. As a family, they treasured their family vacations which included trips to the Rocky Mountains, Smokey Mountains, Mt. Rushmore, Yellowstone National Park, Alaska and two trips to Disney World as well as several Texas area destinations.

As a mom, she served as Room Mother at school, Den Mother for Scouts, accompanied many field trips, assisted with class parties, and volunteered in various capacities as needed. She served her home church as a Sunday School teacher, VBS director, Mother’s Day Out worker as well as serving on the Hospitality Committee. She was a proud Texas Tech Red Raider parent and a proud Texas A&M Aggie mom.

Cheryl returned to Lamar to earn her teacher certification in Early Childhood Education when both of her boys started school. She landed her dream job as a Kindergarten teacher for Lumberton ISD. In her 16 years with the district, she taught Kindergarten, First Grade, and Transition-First Grade. She enjoyed having her students Trick-or-Treat at her house each Halloween and supported her students outside of the classroom by attending their dance recitals or sporting events. Cheryl served her fellow teachers and school as Grade Level Chair, PTO Volunteer Coordinator, and various campus and district committees. In addition, she was certified in Gifted and Talented education and was a trained Gesell screening administrator. In her career as a classroom teacher, she won many teaching awards but her most treasured awards were those of which she was nominated by her students and their parents.

She reconnected with her high school prom date, Jay Foster, and was fortunate to find love again. She and Jay married in 2018 and never took a moment together for granted. As a couple they enjoyed the simple things in life such as shopping, working jigsaw puzzles, playing board games and watching Netflix series and documentaries. Cheryl and Jay shared a love for adventure which took them on many trips including Las Vegas, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Charleston, Corpus Christi, The Grand Canyon, Gatlinburg, Branson, and several Presidential Libraries. A favorite weekend getaway destination was to Fredericksburg where they proudly climbed Enchanted Rock twice. In Houston, they enjoyed attending the Houston Rodeo every year as well as the Houston Astros games.

The absolute highlight of Cheryl’s life was becoming a Grandmother. Her most favorite place to be was in the presence of her grandchildren and nothing else mattered when she was spending time with her family. She enjoyed having everyone over for homecooked meals and lots of laughs and quality visit time. She loved reading to her grandchildren and holding them until they fell asleep.

Cheryl is survived by her husband, Jay Foster; her son, Joshua Ratcliff his wife, Zoe; and her grandchildren, Jack and Sunny. She is also survived by her son, Chase Ratcliff and his wife, Sarah; her parents, Nathan and JoAnn Cross; brother John Cross, Sr. and his wife, Cathy; sister, Amy Rinando and her husband, Vince; nephews, John Cross, Jr. and Nick Rinando, who was also her Godson; nieces, Elizabeth Cross Radabaugh and Anna Rinando. Cheryl cherished her relationship with Jay’s parents, Pat and Sammye Foster, as well as Jay’s brothers Roger, Bobby and his wife, Mary, and niece, Sarah Foster. She is also survived by her Ratcliff family and a big Cross family of many aunts, uncles, cousins, second cousins, and third cousins.

A gathering of Mrs. Foster’s family and friends will begin at 1:30 p.m., with her funeral service to follow at 3:00 p.m., Monday, February 13, 2023, at Woodland Baptist Church, 1860 West Lucas, Beaumont. Her cremation arrangements will be handled through Broussard’s Crematorium under the direction of Broussard’s, 1605 North Major Drive, Beaumont.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests you make a donation to your charity of choice or pay it forward with a kind gesture to someone.