CHERI LANIS

1958 - 2015

March 17, 1958 - August 23, 2015 ADA Cheri Charlee Lanis, of Ada, was an idealist. The glass was always half full, and when it was not she would fill it, preferably with wine. The 57-year-old wife, mother, and grandmother passed away at home on Sunday, August 23, after year long battle with cancer. She was cheerful and optimistic until the very end.It marked the end of an extraordinary life that began in 1958 in Los Angeles, California. Born on Saint Patrick's Day to a Baptist Minister and a future French Historian, Charlee was destined to be a troublemaker.Charlee's forays into mischief started young. She constantly picked on her little sister, pushing her into mud or breaking things and blaming it on her. Once, to spite her parents, she decided to cut off all her hair the day before Easter. She skipped school as often as possible, but was good enough at it to rarely get caught. At sixteen, she was driving 1967 Barracuda, which she never could park properly. She became well known to her for getting parking tickets and vehicles towed, usually at the worst possible time. The Barracuda also led to a lifetime with a severe lead foot, though she miraculously never received a single speeding ticket.She was well known in the community as the Coordinator of Community Education at East Central University, where she managed many of the University's non-credit classes. She was also very active within ECU's Women's Club and was a member of several regional non-profit boards. She loved traveling and made an effort to show her kids as much of the country as possible. Later in life, she began a passion for ballroom dancing, forcing her husband into regular exercise and making a long list of new friends along the way.The Lanis family would like to thank everyone that made the past year as comfortable as possible. Charlee would have liked to personally thank the wonderful staff at Mercy Hospital in Ada and McCortney Family Hospice who went well beyond their duties in providing encouragement and ensuring dignity during her treatment and final moments.The family asks that in lieu of flowers, please consider donating to the ECU Foundation for the Women's Club or for scholarships to the College of Education.Memorial services will be held at 11:00am Saturday, September 5th, at Foundation Hall in the Chickasaw Business and Conference Center on the ECU campus.