Billy Ray Cheatham, age 77, died Saturday December 19, 2009. He was preceded in death by his wives, Marion Parker Cheatham and Jane Bruner Cheatham. Survivors include his daughters, Denise (Mark) Wilder, Debbie (Cody) Wesley; Son, Parker (Karen) Cheatham; granddaughters, Billie Rae (Tim) Gourlay, Anna Belle (Stuart) Norton, Sarah Grace Wilder, Madeleine Cheatham and Isabella Wesley; grandsons, Whitman Wesley and Park Cheatham; step great-granddaughters, Kenzie Gourlay and Annslie Gourlay; sisters, Maggie (Joe) Lewis and Christine (Hayward) Hartley; sister-in-law, Chris Cheatham; special caregivers, Joyce and Norman Harris; and fianc��e, Jeanette Bender.
Services will be held at Ivy Creek United Methodist Church Tuesday December 22, 2009 with visitation at 10:30 a.m. and the service beginning at 11:00 a.m.with Lawrence Brown-Service Funeral Home directing. Burial will follow at Ivy Creek cemetery. Pallbearers will be Mark Wilder, Cody Wesley Tim Gourlay, Stuart Norton, Whitman Wesley and Park Cheatham.
After graduating Lowndes County High School, Billy Ray served in the U.S. Air Force during the Korean Conflict. He was an accountant for Structural Wood Systems and Raines Lumber Company and also owned Beeland Wholesale. Before retiring he was a cotton farmer in Autauga County. He played rhythm guitar and sang in a number of local bands. His avocations were country music, coin collecting and genealogy.
In lieu of flowers the family requests memorials be made to Ivy Creek United Methodist Church or the American Cancer Society, P.O. Box 22718 Oklahoma City, OK 73123-1718.