A viewing for Cheryl Lynn Gurley, 80, of Chickasha, will be held from 9:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m. on Wednesday, January 22 nd , Thursday, January 23 rd , and Friday, January 24 th , at Ferguson Funeral Home.
Celebrating life and saying good-bye to a friend.
Cheryl Lynn Ayres Gurley was born on January 17th, 1945, in Shidler, Oklahoma. She was born on the second floor of the local doctor’s office that served as both doctor’s office and local hospital. She was the first child of Thomas and Bonita Ayres. Shidler was the “Boomtown” of the Burbank shallow oil field just West of Ponca City, Oklahoma, where Kaw Reservoir is now located. Cheryl’s dad was working for the Phillips Oil Company at the time, who was trying to bring in more oil reserves to support the war effort. It wasn’t long before her dad was called into military service and left for basic training. Cheryl and her mother moved to Bartlesville to stay with her grandparents while her dad was serving in the military.
World War II was soon over and thankfully her dad’s military service was relatively short. Soon after returning from the military, he was hired by the Phillips Chemical Company, a wholly owned subsidiary of Phillips Petroleum Company, at their research facility in Bartlesville. This facility made significant major contributions to the war effort over the years, with such achievements as innovating the production of “cold” synthetic rubber for rubber-tired vehicles and an efficient process for making high-octane aviation gasoline. This facility also developed the “Marlex” plastics that are used in numerous products today. Her dad was enormously proud to be a part of this innovative company and went on to spend over 40 years of service here before retiring. This pride was also reflective in how he raised his family.
Soon after going to work for Phillips, Cheryl ‘s parents commissioned a new house to be built at 143 SE Madison Street, on the East side of Bartlesville. It was the home that Cheryl and her brother Tom Ed (who passed in 1988) would grow up in. Originally, it was what most would consider “out in the country” but it did not take long before the town would grow up around them. She lived in the same house while growing up but attended six different schools as school districts were constantly being redrawn.
Cheryl ‘s family attended church at a small “country” church east of town called “New Harmony First Baptist Church”. There she met and socialized with her best friends that would be friends for life. It was in this church that she would be married. It was in this church that her father became a Deacon and would go on to be an ordained Baptist Minister. He and Cheryl’s mother would later leave this church to pastor a small Indian church just southwest of Bartlesville.
Religion was important to the Ayres family, so it wasn’t surprising when Cheryl wanted to attend college at Oklahoma Baptist University (OBU), in Shawnee, OK. In high school she developed an interest in languages, especially Spanish and Latin. By the time she graduated high school, she had already taken all the Latin classes offered there. Her instructor recognized her keen interest and ability and started tutoring her privately so by the time she arrived at OBU, she had already taken all the Latin classes offered, and again the college instructor also gave her private Latin lessons. When it came to Latin and all the Romance languages, she was natural. For her it was more than just the language, it was also an understanding of history as well as the culture of the time.
In September of 1964 at OBU, Cheryl was on her way to tennis class (The only tennis class that she ever attended in her life) She was literally bumped into David Gurley, a new student on campus. Neither were watching where they were going. After grins and apologies, they went on their separate ways. However, later that day, as fate would have it, they found out that they were both enrolled in Dr Lee’s biology class (Dr. Nematode, as they would affectionately call him). Since they already knew each other from their prior brief encounter, they decided to sit together, and the rest is history.
On September 4th, 1965, the two were married in New Harmony Baptist Church and for the next 59 plus years, they grew up together. She was a beautiful bride, and love was in the air. (As it turned out, David’s best man, and Cheryl ‘s maid of honor met for the first time at the wedding and were also married the next year.) Since Cheryl and David did not have any money and it was again time for school to start, they decided to forgo a honeymoon and to try to catch up with that later. (Hint: Going Places Travel). Since David only needed a few college hours to graduate with a degree in Architecture (so they thought), they decided to move to Norman, OK and attend the University of Oklahoma (OU). At that time, David had an 8 x 50 Spartan mobile home (like a big “sardine can” or a long “Airstream”) trailer that they lived in at a Trailer Park just West of campus. The trailers in this park were positioned among beautiful mature pecan trees, and in the Fall when the blue wind blew and the pecans would fall on the trailer, sounding like a war zone, sometimes making it difficult to sleep.
To make ends meet, Cheryl put her education on hold and went to work for the “Daily Oklahoman” in Oklahoma City. She soon found a carpool to help with transportation costs, and David worked part-time jobs at the University. Life was good.
They didn’t know, nor did they care that they were poor. The only luxury that they afforded themselves was to save their money and go to “El Charitos” Mexican restaurant on Friday night, go by the farmers market to buy a bag of fresh roasted peanuts before going on to the stock car races at the Oklahoma City Fairgrounds.
Another ritual that they had was, every Christmas the two of them would go out in the country and cut down a small Christmas tree. Every year, Cheryl would come down with Poison Ivy because of their forest escapades. The doctor’s bills, not to mention the poor girl’s misery, far exceeded any savings that they realized from stealing a small Christmas tree. They soon discontinued this ritual.
Then on September 4th, 1967, their second wedding anniversary and Labor Day, a blessing came into their life. Their first daughter, Shannon Lynn Gurley was born. A full head of hair and the best disposition that a parent could ever wish for. So fortunate that year that a wonderful Christian couple named Mr. and Mrs. Sharp helped with her childcare. This allowed Cheryl to work the last few months before David’s graduation. That year, they saved enough money for a down payment on a new Volkswagen Beetle. Life was good. No more fixing automobile starters while lying in the snow or car heaters that didn’t work. Although David did amass a pretty good set of automotive tools and learned a lot about repairing cars. Life was good.
Cheryl learned to be a pretty good cook in the early years of their marriage, however, there was a lot of trial and error. These were the years before “heat and eat” and packaged food. It was the time when you bought the ingredients, and you prepared the food. Once she made a beautiful pumpkin pie that she forgot to put sugar in. When she realized the error, she thought maybe sprinkling some sugar over the top would compensate for it. It didn’t. Desert was skipped that night, but Life was good.
Finally, in the spring of 1968, David graduated, and the couple moved to Manford, Oklahoma, a suburb of Tulsa. David started his internship with a small architectural firm in Tulsa, and Cheryl went to work for Marathon Oil. They lived in their “Sardine can” on Keystone Lake. It was a beautiful setting near the water. The only noise was an occasional “Hoot Owl” that would wake them at night. Then on April 16th, 1969, another blessing came into their life. Their second daughter, Wendy Gail Gurley, was born. She had blue eyes and curly blond hair, like her momma. Life was good.
The tenure at Manford only lasted a year. David had an opportunity to complete his internship by working on a large “high rise” project in Oklahoma City (the Kerr McGee Building). The chance of a lifetime. The couple moved again. This time without the “sardine can”. Cheryl had her hands full as a stay-at-home mom while taking care of Shannon and Wendy. When the kids were old enough, they were enrolled in a private “Montessori” School and Cheryl was active on the “Mom” side of their education. She was in her element and loved every moment she spent with the kids.
Unfortunately, in the early 1970s, there was a court ordered busing of children in the public schools in Oklahoma City. As a result, the schools and education were in turmoil. Many teachers quit their jobs. A lot of mandatory bussing took place and not much education. Cheryl and David did not have the resources for Shannon and Wendy to continue in private schools, so the next best thing was to look for a community where there was a sense of stability. At that time, Chickasha had a federally funded experimental educational program called “Follow Through”. It was an integrated program that was designed to follow-through what the pre-school federally funded, “Head Start” program started. Both programs allowed the children to develop at their own pace and to learn from each other. Shannon and Wendy were both accepted into Chickasha’s “Head Start” program, and this meant another move for the Gurley family. Although David commuted two hours to work each day, it was certainly worth the sacrifice. Again, Cheryl was active on the “Mom” side of their education and she was in her element, loving every moment of being with the kids.
All her life, Cheryl loved reading. With the house always filled with books and frequent trips to the library, she passed this love of reading down to her girls also. So, when the e-readers became available, she was one of the first to embrace this technology and always kept dozens of books in her library. She was one of the most well-read people that you will ever meet.
Cheryl also loved to crochet. It seems like she always had a crochet needle in her hands, and she was making something. Every time that she was in a crafts store, she invested in more and different patterns. She especially loved making baby blankets. She made dozens of baby blankets for her friends and colleagues over the years and never once thought of taking payment. It was always a gift of love.
Cheryl also loved making Teddy Bears. She made every type of bear that you can imagine. In fact, her e-mail was “bears a bruin” that she used for years. Several years ago, there was a fire in a southwest Oklahoma town that burned several city blocks and left many people homeless. Of course, this meant that many children also lost everything. Cheryl packed up a couple of dozen of her bears and took them to the Red Cross and asked if they would distribute them to the children affected by the fire. A few days later she received a very nice note from the Red Cross saying that the children appreciated them very much and thanking her “group” for being so thoughtful when it was really the work of only one passionate person. It was always a gift of love.
Cheryl and the family especially enjoyed camping and outdoor activities, however, in 1975 the Gurley’s took a road trip to Mexico City in their Chevy pickup with a camper. The camper wasn’t very spacious, but it met their needs and served as their temporary home away from home. A trip that they will always remember and a trip that Cheryl could practice her “Spanish”. The next year they took the pickup with the camper to “Disney World”. Another fun trip. They now had the “travel bug”. They had it so bad that they soon opened a travel agency called “Going Places Travel”. This was Cheryl ‘s business, and she soon knew everyone in town along with their kids and grandkids. What a FUN business to be in. Every day it was fun to come to work and she also hired fun people to work with. Cheryl operated Going Places Travel for twenty-one years in the same location on Fourth street. During that time, she and David traveled all over the world with her “duties as a travel agent”. Their excuse was that “you have to see it to sell it”. Travel is a form of education, and Cheryl was certainly well educated.
Early in their travel experiences, David and Cheryl realized that international travel was difficult for the elderly. The rough cobblestone streets and numerous stairs often created challenges. Not to mention the need to run at full gate through airports to catch a flight. These tasks are better off left to younger able-bodied travelers. Therefore, they made a conscious decision to focus on international travel during their younger years. As they age, they would then focus on travel in the United States.
In 1999, after the proliferation of the Internet (and the airlines quit paying travel agent commissions), Cheryl sold Going Places Travel. She then found that she had too much time on her hands. So, what does she do? She goes to work for Southwest Airlines at the Reservation Center at Will Rogers Airport in Oklahoma City. Once you have the “travel bug” that bad, it’s hard to get rid of it. But she doesn’t become an ordinary “agent”. No, she becomes a “customer care agent”. The one that takes care of the “irate customers” that the other agents have trouble dealing with. Customer care agents are on God’s list as candidates for “sainthood”.
In in 2015, after 50 years of marriage, Cheryl and David celebrated their last international trip in Ireland, a country that had been “out of the way” during their many trips to Europe. Although the trip required additional planning to seek out handicapped accessible facilities and the use of a rented mobility scooter, it was one of the most memorable trips of their lifetime. They finally completed their month long “honeymoon” trip that they couldn’t afford 50 years earlier. Life was good.
In 2006, soon after Cheryl ‘s father passed away, Cheryl ‘s mother, suffering from dementia, came to live with Cheryl and David. Cheryl adjusted her work schedule so that either David or she would be around to watch after her. She lived with them for six years until it was necessary for her to move into a nursing home. Having her in their home was certainly a blessing. A time when the child can now take care of the parent is a blessing. Cheryl’s mother passed away in 2013 at the age of 93.
Cheryl has always loved and cared for animals. Her pet parakeet “Daisy” and her dog “Trixie” have always been prominent in her teenage memories, and she made sure that her children had the same opportunity to have pets. German Sheppard’s, “Koko” “Sam” and “Busch” all grew up with the kids and were loved as part of the family. After the kids left home, Cheryl fell in love with her feline friends. “Madison” “Allie” “Chloe” “Bobby” and “Buddy” (all rescue kittens) frequently spent hours in her lap being loved on. Also, when Cheryl’s Mother came to live with them, she brought with her an extended feline family of “Snow” and “Scatt”. At one time, there were four indoor cats living in the Gurley household. That was a lot of litter boxes and bags of cat food. Cheryl loved them all.
Unfortunately, in 2011, because of health issues, Cheryl retired from the travel industry and Southwest Airlines. Two years later, in 2013, David also retired. Soon after retirement they were able to travel throughout the region in their fifth-wheel camper trailer. David added a handicapped lift to the camper and a mobility scooter on a rack on the back, and they continued to travel. What they observed in their early years of international travel had now come into full circle in their lives.
In October 2022, Cheryl entered a Long-Term Care Facility, where her health continued to degenerate. On her 80th Birthday January 17, 2025, she took her final trip.
She leaves behind her husband of 59 years, her daughters Shannon Lynn Gurley of Broken Arrow, OK and daughter Wendy Gail Medlin and son-in-law Dr Mark Medlin of Oklahoma City, OK. Two grandchildren, Caroline and David Medlin of Oklahoma City, OK and her mother-in-law Colleen Slaughter of Cache, OK.
Cheryl is still “Going Places”. Cremation arrangements and the burial of cremains at Rose Hill Cemetery are under the direction of Ferguson Funeral Home