Cleta Mae "Scooter Pybas" Cheatwood

Lawton resident Cleta Mae "Scooter" Pybas Cheatwood left this world on Thursday, October 2nd at the age of 91. She loved her family and her country, and devoted herself to service throughout her long life.

Born on the family farm in Trousdale, Oklahoma on June 21, 1934, Mrs. Cheatwood was the seventh of nine children born to Jesse Cardwell Pybas and Iva Monkres Pybas. Her nickname was given to her by her father because as an infant she "scooted" instead of crawling. The name stuck with her for the rest of her life - she was Scooter to her family, and Cleta to friends and acquaintances in Lawton. Years later, when her first grandchild christened her "Tootie," that name stuck too.

A child of the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl era, Mrs. Cheatwood and her family migrated from Pottawatomie County, Oklahoma to California's Salinas Valley several times so her parents and older siblings could find work to support the farm back home.

In 1952, Mrs. Cheatwood graduated from Trousdale High School. She was a factory worker at the Sylvania plant in Shawnee and a waitress at the old Oklahoma City Bus Station. In 1953, she married Ralph Cheatwood, a career U.S. Army soldier, and they were married until his death in 1995. They had three daughters, Sharon Cheatwood, Nancy Cheatwood Ellis, and Vicki Cheatwood.

Mrs. Cheatwood was a proud and devoted Army wife who kept the home and her children going throughout her husband's many stints overseas, especially during the Vietnam War. Earlier this year, her service to her country was recognized when she was presented with a Spouse Lapel Pin and Certificate of the Vietnam War Commemoration Medal. She was also recognized as a Gold Circle member of the Ladies Auxiliary VFW.

She was never happier than when her big family was gathered at the farm, or when her home in Lawton was filled with friends and children. She was especially known for making really great tacos, ice tea, and desserts. When her daughters were young, she volunteered at Whittier and B.C. Swinney elementary schools, and she was a Campfire Girls group leader and volunteer for many years. Mrs. Cheatwood loved and nurtured her daughters' friends, and remained a favorite friend of the children in her community, always ready with Kool-Aid, cookies, and conversation.

Mrs. Cheatwood was a longtime volunteer for March of Dimes and supported many other charities. She was also an arts supporter, donating time and funds (and often as not, furnishings from her own home) to theater productions at Lawton High School, Cameron University and Lawton Community Theater, as well as supporting various theater and film projects that her daughters were involved in in Oklahoma, Texas, and New York City.

Mrs. Cheatwood was preceded in death by her parents, her husband, her siblings, and son-in-law Mark Daves. She is survived by her daughter Sharon Cheatwood (Lawton), Nancy Cheatwood Ellis and son-in-law Steven Ellis (Colorado Springs), and Vicki Cheatwood (Dallas), grandchildren Austin Ellis, Jacey Ellis Davidson and husband Cooper, Caleb Daves, and Ethan Daves, her brother-in-law Floyd Cheatwood and sister-in-law Betty Sue Pybas, many nieces and nephews, and her roadtrip buddy Sheila Moe Anderson.

During her long illness, Mrs. Cheatwood was blessed with wonderful nurses and caregivers, including Presley, Cameron, Logan, Ursula, Joe, April, Eva, Holly, Laura, Wyn, and especially Margaret, who devotedly attended her in death.

Donations in Mrs. Cheatwood's honor may be made to the Lawton Food Bank. In lieu of flowers, the family encourages donations of flowers and plants be made to hospitals and care centers, especially those that serve veterans, soldiers, and their families.

Funeral service for Cleta Cheatwood, 91, of Lawton, OK will be held at 10:00 a.m. on Tuesday October 14, 2025 at Lawton Ritter Gray Funeral Home.

Burial will follow at Post Cemetery.