Cecilia Ann Cates

Cecilia Ann (McDaniel) Cates was born in Muskogee Oklahoma on January 3, 1950 to Edward P. McDaniel and Cecile (Watts) McDaniel.  She was the second of seven children, joining Robert, and followed by Danny, Beverly, Mike, Sandra and Sherri.  Cecilia, Sissy to her siblings, was a loving sister who adored her brothers and sisters and they adored her.  They grew up in Coweta, where Cecilia graduated from High School. She later graduated from Northeastern State University in Tahlequah with a degree in Education.

Larry Eugene Cates, also a Coweta native, won Cecilia’s heart and they were married in Muskogee on August 25, 1971.  To their union was born Kimberly Ann, Christina Carole, and Cassandra (CJ) Jean.  Cecilia was a kind, funny, tolerant, generous, intelligent mother who read to her children every day: books, novels, short stories, poetry.  They are forever grateful to have had such a wonderful mother.

Cecilia was a businesswoman, running a tag agency in Coweta for twelve years.  She later went on to teach reading and science at Tulsa Public Schools.  She was also a lifelong Democrat.  She forgave Larry everything, always, except possibly his vote for Ronald Regan in 1980.

She was a member of First Baptist Church of Coweta and attended bible studies at Woodland Terrace and Forest Hills where she resided the past few years.

Cecilia was preceded in death by her parents, her loving husband of thirty-nine years, her youngest sibling, Sherri McDaniel, and her in-laws Eugene and Freda Cates.  She is survived by her children, Kimberly Salmon and son-in-law Christopher, Christina Hampton, and Cassandra (CJ) Cates and her grandchildren, Courtney, Madeline, Chloe and Anna Counts, and Jacob and Sarah Foutch, Nolan Hampton and Emily Hampton.  She is also survived by her siblings and their spouses, Robert and Connie McDaniel, Danny and Sheri McDaniel, Beverly Sears, Mike and Teresa McDaniel, and Sandra and Tony Rombach.  She is survived by her sister-in-law and her husband, Carole and Phil Carter, and a host of cousins, nieces and nephews, great nieces and nephews and friends.

A celebration of Cecilia’s life will be held Monday, June 6, 2022 at 3:00 pm at Brown Funeral Home Chapel, 231 E. Commercial St., Broken Arrow, OK 74012