Michael Cheney

Michael Allen Cheney, of Oak Ridge, went to join the Lord on Tuesday, March 7, 2023. He was born in Winston-Salem on June 30, 1954, to the late John William Cheney and Dolores Nottingham Cheney. Surviving are his wife of 45 years, Penny Renee Vance, his brother Jonathan (Ethel) Cheney, sister Cecelia Haxton, and numerous nieces and nephews.

Michael graduated from Reynolds HS in 1972, then from UNC-CH in 1975. A career in pharmaceutical and medical device marketing led him and Penny to homes in New Jersey, Ohio, Maryland, and Texas before their return to the Triad. He is described as a key executive who helped to change the way medicine is practiced, developing and launching first-in-class devices and digital health tools for chronic pain and asthma management, and consumer-directed diagnostics. His keen insights to solving some of healthcare’s most difficult problems helped to generate and commercialize many life-saving products. Internationally, he took companies/products from university spinouts to publicly traded firms.

His eclectic interests and expertise included art collecting, literature, music, travel, and animals. He was loving and generous, candid and capable, honest and faithful. And, we'll always remember his humor, which often entertained to the point of uncontrollable laughter.

Michael's Christian faith was essential. He served as a choir member and elder, and occasionally delivered sermons. A favorite was singing with the Great Sabbath Choir, on the Saturday before Easter, at Home Moravian Church.

He is irreplaceable, and his passing leaves an unfillable void in the lives of his wife and many family and friends.

A funeral service will be held at 3:00 PM Sunday, March 12, 2023, at Kernersville Moravian Church with Rev. Kevin Frack officiating. The family will receive friends one hour prior to the service. The interment will follow the service at the church graveyard. In Lieu of flowers, please send donations to Crisis Dogs of NC at PO Box 62, Spring Lake, NC 28390 or at www.crisisdogsnc.org/donate. Hayworth-Miller Kernersville Chapel is assisting the family.