Obituary for Cheryl Ann Johnston Bragg Cheryl Ann Johnston Bragg, 73, a New Orleans native and a force of nature, died of congestive heart failure on Monday, October 15, 2018, in her home in Mandeville, La. Beloved wife of Gerald Albert “Gerry” Bragg for 53 years, Cheryl was the mother of Dr. Richard Scott Bragg (Susan) of Orlando, Fla. , David Michael Bragg (Caroline) of Milton, Ga.
, and Robert Matthew Bragg (Amy) of Tuscaloosa, Ala. , and grandmother of Payton, Delaney, Rowan, Rebecca “Becca,” Eagan, infant Thayer (deceased), Miller, and Charles “Beau”. Born at Southern Baptist Hospital in New Orleans, La.
, on August 8, 1945, in the days “between the two atomic bombs,” Cheryl was the firstborn daughter of the late Walter Edwin Johnston, Sr., and the late Lorraine Norman Johnston of Metairie, La. She was the sister of Lorraine “Rainey” Weathington and Walter “Walt” Johnston, Jr., sister-in-law of Barbara Jones (Mike), Beverly Finch (the late Dean), Janet Hungerman (Robin), Charles “Billy” Bragg (Marta) and George Bragg (Margo), and aunt of many nieces and nephews. Cheryl lived life to the fullest in Metairie for more than four decades and in Mandeville for more than three.
She always had a knack for mathematics and a memory “like a steel trap”. She liked communicating her point of view. Academically, she thrived.
After attending St. Catherine of Siena School, Cheryl graduated as salutatorian from Ursuline Academy of New Orleans. She received a scholarship to attend St. Mary’s Dominican College, and following a break for marriage and motherhood, graduated with honors in mathematics and secondary education from the University of New Orleans as the 1979 Outstanding Woman Graduate. She taught math at several New Orleans area high schools.
In 1983, Cheryl began her 30-year career as a financial consultant. She was a licensed stock broker, certified financial planner and registered investment advisor. In 2003, she became a branch owner with Raymond James Financial Services, from which she retired in 2013.
A two-term president of the Financial Planning Association of Greater New Orleans, she also was a 15-year board member of “Money Watch Live,” a free financial forum. She participated in the Women’s Professional Council of Greater New Orleans, the New Orleans Estate Planning Council, and the LSU Foundation’s Planned Giving Professional Advisory Council. At home, Cheryl was a member of the Beau Chene Garden Club, Northlake Newcomers, and the Bon Temps Gourmet Club.
She was a founding member of the Saint Paul’s School fundraiser “Jazz ‘N Roll” and the Bon Temps Book Club. Cheryl cherished her extended family and her many friends. She was fond of gardening, biking, swimming, traveling, cooking, entertaining, reading, storytelling, recalling details others forgot, and “doing the math” for all of the above.
She advised people to “go for it” in pursuit of their dreams and in fulfillment of their obligations, “like The Little Engine That Could,” building momentum over time. Relatives and friends are invited to attend a Memorial Mass at 12:00 PM on Friday, October 19, 2018 at Most Holy Trinity Catholic Church, 501 Holy Trinity Drive, Covington, LA 70433. Visitation on Friday from 10:00 AM to service time.
Private interment will follow at Hope Mausoleum in New Orleans. Memorial donations can be made to the Myasthenia Gravis Foundation of America, the Go Red For Women initiative of the American Heart Association, or the University of New Orleans Foundation. Share a memory on the tribute wall at www.
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