Last Thursday family and friends said goodbye to former city councilwoman Jerri Reaves who had passed away on June 26 at the age of 82.
Jerri graduated from Checotah High School in 1962. In 1980, she began working at Garrett Chevrolet as an office administrator. Later she worked as the office manager for Thomas Marine and finally at Garrett Wrecker Service, retiring in the early 2000s. She also served as a council woman for over 10 years for the City of Checotah and volunteered at the Katy Depot and other events. She was proud to be awarded the 2006 Main Street Outstanding Volunteer and the 2012 Significant Alumna as well.
Jerri enjoyed word puzzles, crocheting, coin and rock collecting, and baking. She was famous for her baking which included pecan and pumpkin pies, cookies, puff corn, pear bread and her Thanksgiving cornbread dressing. If she liked you, she brought you a buttermilk pie.
At Jerri’s Celebration of Life Jerri’s baby sister, Janetta Mc-Coy, gave a little more insight into their family history and her ornery sister that loved Checotah and Checotah had grown to love her back.
McCoy stated, “In case you didn’t know, our father, Gerald Mitchell, was born in Charleston, Arkansas in 1912 and our mother, Leona Green, was born in Moody Missouri in 1919. Both families moved to Checotah in the 1920’s and were prominent in the local Church of Christ with at least one of our grandfathers being an elder. “After high school graduation Gerald went to California to seek his fortune like several in that day, but wrote to Leona some very interesting letters and on March 2, 1938 Gerald and Leona eloped.
“Nine months and 23 days later (yes we did the math) Kay Francis was born. Four years later Jerri Lee was born and my parents felt that their family was complete. However, four years later I came on board and forever became known as the ‘baby sister.’
“Even this past April as I sat with Jerri in the Muskogee hospital, she insisted on introducing me as her ‘baby sister.’ Oh how she loved to torture me with her advanced standing in the family. It must have been disheartening for her when I grew out of the crib and was relegated to sharing a bed with her. Of course, I loved it. I always wanted to be where she was. She knew things. She had interesting friends. But when we went to bed in that unheated bedroom under piles of my mother’s hand sewn quilts, she did not want to hear what I had to say, or what tune I was playing on the springs under the mattress, even worse, evidently I had cold feet!
“Our oldest sister, Kay, was the brainiac. So smart – she could tell great stories, was always with a book, and often in a bit of trouble because of her mouth.
“Jerri was the only one of us with any musical ability. She played alto sax in the Checotah High School marching band. I didn’t know how hard that was until I tried out and Mr. Mc-Cain suggested I find other interests.
“Our parents really didn’t have to be very strict because we lived on that farm almost three miles south of town. There was no one to get in trouble with. They just had expectations, especially about school. Mama worked at the sewing factory and was extraordinary when it came to making all of our clothes, including Daddy’s western shirts – that is a story all by itself.
“Daddy of course raised horses. Not just any horse –Appaloosa horses, which he led all of us to believe that any other horse was inferior. Just as he preached that any car that wasn’t a FORD was an ‘off brand.’
“So eventually Kay went off to college in Tahlequah and Jerri finally got her own bed! Then soon Jerri went to business school in Tulsa and I went to OSU.
“As far as I was concerned Jerri was leading an exciting city life. So I went to visit her from Stillwater one weekend, met her roommates, and together we smoked a lot of cigarettes.
“It would be in Tulsa that Jerri would meet and marry Mike Reaves and then they would move to Mike’s hometown of Jonesboro, Arkansas. There Jerri would give birth to two amazing children, Cheryl and Michael. However, that Arkansas adventure came to an end when a tornado came perilously close to their home and Jerri decided she preferred Oklahoma tornadoes!
“So, Jerri and Mike settled in Checotah with two small children, which elated my mother and father. The kids all thrived living in a small town near their grandparents — all was well. Until Mike died suddenly of a massive heart attack leaving Jerri with two teenagers. It was a staggering loss. But Gerald and Leona Mitchell had raised three strong women – each very different from the other – but strong in their own right. So Jerri gathered her strength, and moved forward making sure that Cheryl and Michael could be the best they could be and she made a life for herself herein Checotah, Oklahoma.
“You all know Jerri’s bookkeeping ability. Did you know she also took her real estate license, though she never listed or sold a property? She also went to nurse’s training but never practiced. I guess she just wanted to know things.
“I think that probably came in handy when following in Kay’s footsteps and Jerri successfully ran for Checotah city council. Then again, and again the community elected her. Jerri took that job very seriously. Each time I would come to visit, she insisted on taking me to city hall to meet everyone. She loved taking care of her community and the people knew it.
“Perhaps the most remarkable effort she ever made was taking care of our mother. Mama lingered in the nursing home for 11 years and Jerri was there every single day making sure all was well. She became friends with the staff – taking them cookies even long after mom’s passing.
“Every week she took the local newspaper to little old people of the nursing home, even up until she was put in the nursing home for rehabilitation. Then she called and reminded the local ‘paper girl’ that she would have to get the papers to them until she could do her job again.
“When the Katy Depot came up as a project for preservation, Jerri was there with Ms. Emmy Stidham and Betty Working along with others. She was committed and responsible and loved being the treasurer for many years.
“In these later years when Jerri’s son, Michael, and his wife, Karla, would try to entice Jerri to come live with them in their home in suburban Fort Worth, Texas, she did things her way. Though they designated a bedroom and a bathroom to her, she would only claim it at Thanksgiving.
“I’m glad a few years ago Jerri insisted that I come celebrate Thanksgiving with them. It wasn’t easy as I was living in Spokane, Washington at the time but Jerri loved her family and wanted us all to be together. However, her terms for being together were tough. She favored her boys and always wanted to celebrate the holiday in Texas, always at Michaels. And she was the only one to make pecan pies, pumpkin pies and the cornbread stuffing. That was her job after all.
“As the ‘baby sister’ I have been relegated to making only the giblet gravy. Just like when we were little girls on the Mitchell horse farm south of town, I did what she said because I always thought she was doing something more interesting and fun than I was. And now she definitely is.
“Oh how our family will miss her and I am pretty sure Checotah will miss her as well.”
