Rebecca Alice Cryer

Rebecca Alice Schoemann was born in Shawnee, Oklahoma on October 9, 1946, the daughter of DeLaine W. Schoemann and Frances F. Forrester Schoemann, joining older siblings Gloria and Larry, and followed by younger brother Dee Martin.

She lived most of her young life in Wanette, OK, where she met the love of her life, David Cryer. They fell in love in high school and never parted. They married on July 25, 1964 and had recently celebrated 56 years of marriage. They were blessed with three children – Eric, Aimie and Andrew.

Rebecca didn’t start college until after the birth of their first child Eric. She persevered through the challenges of getting her education while taking care of a young family. After graduating with distinction from the University of Oklahoma in 1973, she continued by studying for her law degree. Daughter Aimie came along in 1976 and Rebecca was awarded her Juris Doctorate from OU the following year. Since then she was admitted to the Oklahoma State Bar, the United State District Court for the Western and Eastern Districts of Oklahoma and the Choctaw Nation Bar.

During her long legal career, she served as staff attorney for Legal Aide of Western Oklahoma, worked in private practice, was an Assistant District Attorney for Cleveland and McClain Counties, served as an Enforcement Attorney with the Oklahoma Department of Securities, as Magistrate and then Appellate Magistrate for the Court of Indian Affairs (CFR), Southern Plains Region and finally as a District Judge of the Choctaw Nation District Court.

She was a proud member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation of Shawnee, OK and served as the Tribal Administrator in 1977 to 1978.

Rebecca was a warm and friendly person; she could easily strike up a conversation with complete strangers and be genuinely interested in their stories. She was a compassionate person; from the friends and family in her life, to the people she met through the legal system, to the smallest stray animal, she only wanted to help them succeed and live their best lives and be happy. She was an adventurous person; she was ready at a moment’s notice to see a movie with friends, to visit a local art festival, or to travel as often as she could. She was a lifelong learner; she was constantly reading, and loved talking for hours with people, discussing ideas and politics. She was a survivor; as an employee in the Journal Records Building, she suffered serious injuries during the Alfred P. Murrah bombing. Her name is inscribed on the Survivor Wall. And, she was also a Friend of Bill W.; she treasured the friendships she made on that journey, and they were some of the deepest and truest of her life.

She is survived by her loving husband and partner, David Cryer; her three children, Eric (Missy) of Norman, OK, Aimie (Jason Black) of Austin, TX, and Andrew (Julianna) of Pensacola, FL; her precious five grandchildren, Nathan, Ella, Ethan, Kane and Kenai; her sisters, Gloria Shallcross (Bill) of Norman, OK and Rebecca Page of Park City UT, and brother, Dee Martin (Toni) Schoemann of Tulsa, OK; plus numerous nieces, nephews and friends.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at St. Thomas More Catholic Church on Friday, October 9, 2020, at 3:00 p.m. with interment of ashes at a later date at Sunset Memorial Garden under the direction of Primrose Funeral Home. Please wear masks and socially distance. There will also be a celebration of life post COVID.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations may be made in her name to the ASPCA, Catholic Charities USA, or the charity of your choice.

You may attend the service remotely via livestream on Primrose's Face Book page at https://www.facebook.com/PrimroseFuneralService/