Cheyenne Lee Johnson

Cheyenne Lee Johnson (nee Meyers), passed away peacefully at 7:33 p.m. on June 3, 2020 at the age of 24. Cheyenne is and will be forever loved by her husband, Benjamin M. Johnson, infant son, Jayden; mother Charity Meyers, father Brad Hoops (Allison), sisters Emma Meyers-Hoops and Finnley Jessogne, brothers Jack Meyers-Hoops and Jaxson Jessogne, maternal grandparents, Bobby and Joy Meyers, paternal grandparents, Betty Hoops and Nick Hoops, Mother-In-Law Linda Schmidt and many loving aunts, uncles, cousins, great aunts, great uncles, and cherished friends.

Cheyenne (aka Chey Pie, Baby Bean, Pelican or Pookalita) made her grand entrance in January of 1996. And when we say grand, we mean grand. Charity and Brad, along with Cheyenne’s Aunt Michelle were there to greet her and observe her second act of independence and mischief when Cheyenne startled the doctor by peeing on him (her first act was deciding to take over 21 hours to be born). Cheyenne smiled from the beginning and that beautiful smile lit up rooms and made people feel happy just to see it.

From the beginning Cheyenne possessed an old soul. She was so loved by all who knew her. Cheyenne spent a great deal of time as a child and teenager at her beloved Papa and Mom-Mom’s farm to hang out with her aunts and uncles Michelle Meyers Monson (Jamie), Carolyn Perez (Isidro), JR Meyers (Amanda), Christopher Meyers, Melissa “Kiki” Meyers (Michael) and Josh Meyers (Meagan). What was unique about this is they were very young as well and grew up with her. Each of them held a special bond with Cheyenne and continuously supported her and loved her throughout her life. Cheyenne developed her love of horses through this and for years every Friday night she had a date night with Papa where she would take horseback riding lessons. Cheyenne carried this passion through all of her life and we know she is reunited with Rowdy and doing all of those crazy stunts that would make our hearts drop.

Cheyenne also spent a great deal of time with her Dad’s family in Wisconsin. Grandma Betty and Aunt Wendy (Wendy Hoops Rohrer) came down to Illinois the day she came home from the hospital and stayed to help the first few days. Lucky for them, they escaped the colic! Grandpa Nick (Nick Hoops) would go on the boat with Uncle Matt (Matt Hoops, Jenny) and patiently help teach Cheyenne to water ski. Cheyenne became very adept at it and even surpassed her Dad’s talents. Another passion was born here and gratefully, less than 2 weeks ago, Cheyenne was able to get back out on the water with Ben, Jayden, her Dad and brothers and sisters. Despite the challenges of the day as a result of her treatment side effects, she declared it one of the best days of her life. Grandma Betty always knew when to send Cheyenne a card or send a message when she needed to hear it the most.

Cheyenne made friends wherever she went. She had a light in her and people were drawn to her humor, her beauty inside and out and her compassionate heart. Many of her friends from school are still friends with her today. Yet another passion came out of school – her love of art. Mom Mom would encourage this and help her hone in on her talents. No matter what the method used Cheyenne created beautiful drawings, paintings and sculptures. She always saw the good and beauty in everything and was able to capture it through her creations.

Early in Spring of 2016, Cheyenne rekindled a relationship with somebody she had a huge crush on in high school – the man that would become her loving husband, Ben. From the moment they rekindled they were inseparable. They were each other’s best friends, rocks and soul mates. On September 8, 2018, they were married in a beautiful ceremony, surrounded by so much love from their families and friends and Cheyenne’s family grew with the addition of her adoring Mother-In-Law, Linda, and her new found big sister, Sabrina Lewis (Gordon). After honeymooning in Key West, Cheyenne and Ben were thrilled to announce that they were expecting.

Cheyenne was a traveler and wanderer at heart. She enjoyed meeting new people and seeing new places. One of her favorite places she visited was Santa Monica, California. That was a close tie with Key West. We went again in February of this year. Cheyenne and Ben were able to recreate a great deal of their honeymoon activities and she was able to see Jayden at the ocean. Cheyenne was a great mom and her number one concern always was for and about Jayden. While there, she was faced with a parenting dilemma. Jayden kept trying to eat the sand and we kept trying to brush it off of him and she finally looked at me and said, “Mom, I’m just going to let him eat a little so he will understand it’s gross and he won’t do it again.”. Sure enough that is what happened. Motherhood came naturally to her and the bond she and Jayden had was unlike any most have seen. People who saw them together picked up on it immediately and often commented.

Cheyenne was a warrior. She fought bravely her whole life and she did not stop fighting until the very end. The world was a better place to have her but she was needed for something else that is bigger than any of us. While we all mourn and miss her, please take a moment to remember her smile. Her laugh. Those big beautiful eyes filled with fire and laughter. Her silly faces and singing off key to her favorite songs. Her love for everyone she encountered. Everybody held a special place in her heart and created memories with her to cherish. Please continue to honor and cherish those memories. There will be tears but just know, she is looking over all of us and can’t you just hear her saying, “Oh my gosh you guys! Why are you crying? I’m fine!”.

Visitation will begin at 4pm until the funeral service at 8pm, Thursday, June 11 at Davenport Family Funeral Home, 941 S. Old Rand Road, Lake Zurich.