Eliza Jane Sanders

Funeral services for Eliza Jane Smith Sanders will be held on Monday, July 22nd, 2024 at 2:00 PM at Reed-Culver Chapel with Pastor Bill Holcomb officiating. The family will receive guest on Friday, July 19th, 2024 beginning at 1:00 PM until 5:00 PM at Reed-Culver Chapel. She will be laid to rest at Barber Cemetery with her family.

Pallbearers for Eliza include Gary Sequichie Jr., Neil Sequichie, George Dunn II (Chris), B.J. Holcomb, Joshua Holcomb, Micah Holcomb, Joshua Butcher Jr., Raven Holcomb, Jordan Holcomb, and Kane Holcomb. The Honorary Pallbearers include Anthony Pritchett, Mark Dunn, Timothy Dunn, Edwin Dunn, Anthony Shawn Pritchett, Giorgio Dunn, Blaine Bailey, Bishop Bert, and Rosco Dunn.

Eliza Jane Smith –Sanders was born on January 24th, 1942 in Tahlequah, OK, during WWII, the daughter of Leo Smith and Jennie Chunestudy-Pritchett. She was raised with three sisters and one brother, Leola, Andrew, Mary and Elsie. They grew up in the Welling Community, and she attended school at Drycreek Indian Day School. Growing up, she often served as an interpreter for people, bridging the gap between Cherokee and English. She attended high school at Sequoyah. Following school, she married and began her family, a job she thoroughly enjoyed. She worked at a wide variety of jobs, she sewed garments at the Cherokee Nation Sewing Factory, worked at Greenleaf Nursery, served as busdriver and teacher at Tenkiller School, taught Cherokee at Cave Springs School, and finished her working career at Cherokee Nation as a Registration Field Clerk and Receptionist after 18 and a half years. She loved time home with her family and especially her children, Cheryl, Barbara, Billy, Rodney, and Sherry, and enjoyed driving around with her sister and riding buddy, Elsie. She enjoyed cooking and canning, and made the best chicken and dumplings, sauerkraut and wieners, kanuchi, and followed it up with a trip to the creek to relax. She had a servant’s heart and loved people, always going the extra mile to help anyone that needed her. She was everyone’s Grandma, and often dispensed advice, and love in equal portions. Her grandchildren were her pride and joy and she doted on them whenever she got the chance. She was a charter member of Blessed Hope Baptist Church and served the Lord all of her days as a Sunday School Teacher, Treasurer, and helped in any capacity asked of her. She was a faithful servant of the Lord, to which last Sunday was the first service she missed in years due to illness. You could always depend on grandma to pass out a gospel tract, invite you to church, or tell her about her Savior. Her husband Roy Sanders died in 1994, and she carried on in the best tradition of working til called home to rest. She made you happy to hear her laugh, and extended the hand of friendship to everyone she met. The Lord called this wonderful, daughter, wife, mother, grandmother and aunt home from her many labors on July 16th, 2024 in Tahlequah, OK, surrounded by those that knew and loved her. She was 82 years old and will be greatly missed.

She is preceded in death by her grandparents, Joe and Molly (Spaniard) Chunestudy, and Sam and Mary (Bark) Smith. She joins her mother and father, one daughter, Cheryl, her husband Roy, a grandson Justin Bailey and her siblings, Leola Girdner, Andrew Pritchett, Donna Smith, Linda Smith and Mary Bolin.

She will be lovingly remembered by her children, Barbara Dunn and husband George Sr. of Morris, OK, Billy Holcomb Sr. of Tahlequah, Rodney Holcomb of the home, Sherry Kromhout of Spavinaw, OK, and one special niece, Dora Dunn. She has one sister, Elsie Pritchett of Tahlequah, OK. Her brothers, Leo Smith Jr and Eric Smith, and her sisters, Wynenna Smith, Devennia Smith, and Felicia Smith. She lives on in her grandchildren, Justin Bailey, Gary Sequichie Jr., Neil Sequichie, George Dunn II (Chris), Kane Holcomb, Holly Dunn, Michelle Dunn, B.J. Holcomb, Tiffany Deerinwater-Paschal, Joshua Holcomb, Jordan Holcomb, Angel Holcomb, Rodney Holcomb Jr., Micah Holcomb, Raven Holcomb, Kyla Holmes, Josh Butcher Jr., Hannah Kouplen, and Laura Burcher. She also leaves 25 great grandchildren, as well as many nieces, nephews, cousins and a host of friends and loved ones too numerous to mention.