Lake Crystal, MN - Cheryl Lynn Hanson Browning, 62, of Lake Crystal, Minnesota passed away on January 4, 2026, at the Lakeshore Rehabilitation Center in Waseca, following an extended battle with brain cancer.

Cheryl was born on August 9, 1963, in Minneapolis to James and Vivian (Ellefson) Hanson. She graduated from Princeton High School in 1981, then began her undergraduate studies at St. Cloud State University. Cheryl took a brief break from school, then returned to St. Cloud to complete her degree in Business Administration in 1988.

She worked for the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation as a bank examiner in the Minneapolis FDIC Field Office, which eventually took her to West Virginia and Michigan. She married Chris Browning on July 25, 1997, in Winfield, West Virginia, and they settled in Lake Crystal in 2003. Cheryl served as the FDIC Supervisory Examiner of the Mankato Field Office from 2003 until her retirement in 2019.

Cheryl was preceded in death by her husband Christopher (2021), her parents James (2022) and Vivian (2020) Hanson, and brother Charles (2004). She is survived by her brothers Greg and Steve (Michelle), stepdaughters Rea, Elisabeth (Nick), and Katherine (Russ), several nieces and nephews, and many cousins.

A private memorial service will be held at a later date.