Rita Joyce Cherry

Rita Joyce McAnulty Cherry, 82, of Edmond, OK, went Home to be with her Lord and Savior on Wednesday, January 21, 2026.

Rita was born in Oklahoma City on January 6, 1944, to Neill and Jo McAnulty. She grew up in Oklahoma City and graduated from Capitol Hill High School in 1962. In January of her senior year, the love of her life, Chuck Cherry, proposed to her. She graduated from high school and married on September 1, 1962. She began her college career at the University of Oklahoma. Chuck and Rita moved to Colorado, where Rita completed her degree at the University of Colorado. Rita began her teaching career in a second-grade classroom in Jefferson County Public Schools in Littleton, Colorado. In 1968, they moved to Decatur, Illinois, where Chuck and Rita had two children, Doug and Christa. In 1974, the family moved back home to Edmond, Oklahoma, where she stayed home for a few years. During that time, she completed her Master's degree in Reading at the University of Central Oklahoma. She began a long-term substitute position in 1979 as a speed reading teacher at Edmond Memorial High School. The following school year, she became the Title I Reading teacher at Clegern Elementary in Edmond. In 1985, she began teaching 6th-grade Reading & 7th-grade Media at Cimarron Middle School in Edmond, where she taught until she retired in 2002.

Rita was an avid reader, having piles of books on her nightstand at any given time, all of which she would be reading simultaneously. She loved to travel, attend grandkid activities, and all songs Sandi Patty. When Sandi started playing, we kids knew it was time to start cleaning the house! She truly loved animals, but had a very special place in her heart for the miniature dachshunds they babied over the majority of their marriage. She enjoyed collecting anything with cherries or dachshunds. She and Chuck took trips all over the world, often with their dearest friends. They also spent quite a bit of time in Colorado and on road trips with their 5th wheel. Rita was so proud of her family, and she deeply loved her husband, her children, and her grandchildren. Most importantly, she was a believer in Jesus Christ. She journaled on the day she gave her life to the Lord on Sunday, January 4, 1959, just two days before her 15th birthday. She was a part of the Edmond's First Baptist Church family and attended until she was no longer able. Throughout the last 12 years or so, Rita progressed through the journey of Alzheimer's. In 2021, she moved into The Veraden's Memory Care facility, and Chuck moved into the Independent Living apartments so he could always be near her. They celebrated 62 years of marriage before he passed away in 2024.

Rita is survived by her son Doug Cherry & wife Kiki of Edmond, OK; her daughter Christa Cherry Ellis & husband Mark of Edmond, OK; her grandchildren Anna Cherry Rees & husband Jeff of Mobile, AL; Joshua Cherry of Pittsburgh, PA; Bethany Ellis and Brooklyn Ellis both of Edmond, OK. She is also survived by her nephew David Gallion & wife Helen and children of Yukon, OK; her sister-in-law, Janice Cherry Berger & husband Ed of Austin, TX; along with her nieces, Meredith Berger Chambers & husband Spencer and children of Pearland, TX; Emily Berger Buchanan & husband Brad and children of Austin, TX; and nephew, Greg Berger & wife Jennelle and children of San Antonio, TX.

Rita is preceded in death by her husband, Charles Walter Cherry; her parents, Willie Neill McAunlty and Jo Doggett McAnulty; her sister, Carol McAnulty Gallion; and her father-in-law and mother-in-law, Walter Brown Cherry and Kathryn Short Cherry.

A celebration of life will be held on Tuesday, February 3, 2026, at 10:00 am at Crawford Family Funeral Home at 610 NW 178th St., Edmond, OK 73012, with interment following at Memorial Park Cemetery in Edmond, OK.

An opportunity for viewing will be on Monday, February 2, 2026, at Crawford Family Funeral Home, starting at noon. The family will be there to greet you from 5:00 pm - 7:00 pm.

In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to Edmond's First Baptist Church or the Alzheimer's Association.