Cheryl Nousaine

Cheryl Nousaine, age 78 of Starbuck, Minnesota, passed away peacefully surrounded by her family on Thursday, August 1, 2024, at the Stonebrook Loving Heart Senior Living in Auburn, California.

Funeral services for Cheryl Nousaine are pending with Starbuck Funeral Home in Starbuck, MN.

Cheryl Annette Ronnie, daughter of Arnold and Gladys (Flaten) Ronnie, was born on March 12, 1946, in Starbuck, Minnesota. She attended Starbuck High School and graduated in 1964. Cheryl then attended the University of Minnesota and graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology in 1968. While attending university, Cheryl took an introductory course in the Russian language, where she met Dennis Nousaine. The two were married in October of 1969 at Immanuel Lutheran. After Dennis completed medical school in 1971, the couple moved to Stockton, California, where they eventually bought their first home and where their first child, Christian, was born. The couple loved to ski in the Sierra Nevada Mountains and to sail in the Sacramento River Delta. The couple later moved an hour west to the rural area near Sutter Creek, California, where Cheryl enjoyed riding horses and gardening. Cheryl’s younger son, Aaron, was born in 1984.

Cheryl lived an adventurous life of travel, visiting nations around the globe. Her travels took her from the island of Svalbard in artic Norway to Tierra del Fuego and the Antarctic Peninsula. She visited remote islands, like Tristan, in the South Pacific Ocean and French Polynesia, and pet whales on trips to the remote bays of Baja, California. Yet despite her travels, Cheryl always found time to return to her childhood home in Starbuck, often bringing her children to spend time at the family farm. Upon the death of her father, Cheryl moved back to Minnesota and took up residence at the family homestead (built in 1889 by her grandfather). The peace of retirement, however, was not to last, as Cheryl began to split her time between Starbuck and Lodi, California, in order to help take care of her grandson, Hunter. Cheryl enjoyed the best of both worlds for the next ten years, spending summers at her family farm and winters in Lodi, close to good friends and family.

She was a lifelong member of Immanuel Lutheran Church where she attended Sunday school and was confirmed. She was also a member of the Sons of Norway and Sigdalslag. She was immensely proud of her Norwegian heritage. She also loved horses and earlier in life was an active member and participant in the Pony Club of America. She was also very proud to have attended college and was an active member of the National Association of University Women (AAUW). Most of all she cherished spending time at her family farm, and with her family and friends.

In 2021, Cheryl moved from her farm to Holly Ridge Manor in Starbuck, where she lived until May 2024, when she moved to California to be closer to her son.

Cheryl is survived by her son: Aaron (Meghan) Nousaine; her grandchildren: Aila and Hunter Nousaine; her sister: Ardis Gillund; and her ex-husband: Dennis Nousaine.

She was preceded in death by parents: Gladys and Arnold Ronnie; and her eldest child: Christian.

In lieu of flowers, the family would encourage donations to be made to the Alzheimer’s Association, Parkinson’s Foundation, or your local Center for Independent Living.

Arrangements are with Starbuck Funeral Home in Starbuck, MN.