Cherie Mertin Tilley, a loving husband and father, faithful member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, an underground miner, and resident of Lehi, Utah, passed away from pancreatic cancer on April 25, 2017 at the age of 75.
Cherie is survived by his wife Kathleen Joyce Tilley (Fickel), his sisters Linda Jean Heward, Diane Sue Barnson, and Nancy Joanne Jones, and his brother Terry Mack Tilley, and his 19 beloved grandchildren.
Cherie was born in Rio Tinto, Nevada on July 25, 1941, to Mack Mertin Tilley and Hazel Chloe Huffman. He married Kathleen on October 9, 1965. Kathleen and Cherie welcomed 9 children into the world: five boys, Jason, Mark, Thomas, Timothy, and Patrick, and four girls, Stacey, Abby, Julie, and Rebecca.
Cherie worked for his father on the weekends at the Darwin Underground Mine near Death Valley, California at the age of 11, mucking out blasted rock by hand. He worked in the underground mining industry beginning in 1958, retiring in 2007. His work took he and his family to Wyoming, Utah, California, Nevada, New Mexico, Colorado, Montana, also working in Arizona, Puerto Rico and Honduras on temporary assignments.
Cherie was a devoted husband and father who was a great example of a dedicated, hard-working man to all who knew him. He was an innovator who changed the mining industry and has received many awards over the years for his efforts, including SME’s inaugural Miner of the Year in 2012. He has written and presented many technical papers related to his successes in the industry. He also enjoyed politics and ran in the Primary Election for U.S. Senate in Nevada in 2004.
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