Cheryl Lynn Essary Ryan CHILDRESS-Cheryl Lynn Essary Ryan, a 12 year resident of Childress, Texas, passed away on Dec. 15, 2014, at the age of 65 due to complications from a brain tumor. Born July 5, 1949, on her mother's birthday, she was the second of six girls born to Ruben and Marceline Essary in Lubbock, Texas. She married Randall Ryan in Quanah, Texas, on Jan. 10, 1970. They had four children together. They were married for forty-five years. Cheryl attended school in Denver City, Texas, and finished her last two years of high school in Quanah, Texas, graduating in 1967. She attended two years of college at Lubbock Christian then transferred to Abilene Christian where she graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Education in 1973, Magna Cum Laude. She later finished a Masters of Education in Administration from West Texas A&M University in 2000. Cheryl loved teaching, especially eighth grade History where she taught her last ten years. She retired in 2008 from Childress ISD after 32 years of teaching. She also taught in Paducah for 19 years, and in Burkburnett and Crowell. Cheryl was an avid gardener who designed her own landscaping around the house and her own private backyard garden starting in 2003. Over the next ten years she would add and replace trees, plants, and shrubs. She wanted a fish pond in the backyard, so she dug it by hand to accommodate 2500 gallons of water, four feet deep. She also loved to sing. She sang in the Acapella chorus at Lubbock Christian and continued to lend her beautiful voice in song at church services. She also loved to travel and did so to all 50 states and several countries with her husband. She couldn't drive by a Civil War battlefield without visiting. She also loved the Rocky Mountains, where she jeeped over numerous treacherous trails, hiked, camped, fished, or just went to enjoy God's creation. Cheryl is preceded in death by her parents. She is survived by her loving husband of forty-five years, Randall Ryan of Childress; their children, Heather and her husband, Lane Sharp of Vernon, Paul and his wife, Jennifer Ryan of Tolar, Hannah and her husband, Hunt Lathem of Childress, and Zack and his wife, Beth Ryan of Roswell, NM. She is also survived by her five sisters, Kay and her husband, Bob Nelson of Elk Rapids, MI, Pam and her husband, Kenneth Horton of Quanah, Texas, Melissa and her husband, Tim Leftwich of Las Vegas, NM, Terry and her husband, Dave Babcock of Kalkaska, MI, and Kim and her husband, Mike Babcock of Kalkaska, MI; and eight grandchildren; and numerous nieces and nephews. Mrs. Ryan, the teacher, wanted to continue to teach in death by donating her body to the Texas Tech Medical School. Her memorial service will be 2 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 18, at Childress Church of Christ, to be followed by a family visitation at the church. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be sent to West View Boys Home of Hollis, Oklahoma.

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