Villines, Cheryl

📷VILLINES (PETERS), Cheryl Marie “Cheri” Cheryl “Cheri” Marie Peters Villines died December 20, at her home in Stone Mountain, GA, from complications of dementia. She was born March 20, 1950, in Kansas City, MO, graduated from Bishop Hogan High school, and from Creighton University. She graduated from Georgia State University with a master of education in counseling. She spent her life as a marriage and family therapist and child and family advocate. A talented musician, Cheri played several instruments. Her piano music was the centerpiece of many family holidays. She was a founding member of Atlanta Conundrums, a locally beloved women’s drumming group. Even after her illness took her ability to speak, she continued to drum at performances across the state. Cheri was a lifelong activist. Through her work at DeKalb DFCS, Devereux, the DeKalb CSB, and numerous boards, she worked to radically overhaul the child welfare and mental health system. She believed in “nothing about us without us,” and founded several boards run by mental health consumers. At a time when the notion of listening to child mental health consumers was revolutionary, Cheri encouraged organizations to put children and teenagers on their boards. She took in people and animals, building a large network of extended family to whom she gave a home. She devoured books, wrote prolifically, and turned everything she touched into a work of art. She loved entertaining. Cheri was preceded in death by her parents, William Peters and Margo (Davis) Peters, her brother, Patrick Peters, and a granddaughter, Ember Villines-Filipovits. She leaves behind her best friend and partner, John Dougan, her ex-husband, Aubrey T. Villines, Jr., her daughter, Zawn Villines, son-in-law, Jeffrey Filipovits, son, Aubrey “Trey” Villines, III, foster son, Antonio Chambers, and her granddaughter, Athena Villines-Filipovits, as well as innumerable friends and fans. A memorial service is planned for after the pandemic, and there will be a mass at Corpus Christi Catholic Church in the new year.