Ms. Cheri Catinna Sanders passed away peacefully surrounded by friends and family on October 22, 2024.
Ms. Sanders attended Owensboro High School and later graduated from Richmond Model High School in Richmond, KY. She went on to earn a Bachelor of Science in social work from the University of Kentucky, where she was a member of the Chi Omega Sorority. She spent her career advocating for others during her 30 years of nonprofit management, with service to Easterseals of TN, the American Lung Association of TN, Alzheimer’s Association of TN, the American Diabetes Association of TN, and concluded her career as the Executive Director of the ALS Association TN Chapter.
Ms. Sanders was a fierce fundraiser and is credited for pioneering charity walks at many of these organizations. Following her retirement, she poured her advocacy experience into volunteering for organizations focused on equity and support of her son and his husband.
While she had a successful and impactful career, her greatest accomplishment was being a mom and grandmother. She supported both her children through all their personal and professional pursuits. Ms. Sanders was a hard-working, single mother who put her children above everything and channeled this same love and affection to her grandchildren. She lived her love of God through serving her church of 40 years, Brentwood United Methodist Church, where she was a youth Sunday school teacher with her partner Jimmy Locke.
Ms. Sanders was preceded in death by her parents, Horace “Nick Hayes Catinna IV and Ima Lee Catinna, and her little brother Thomas “Tommy” Hayes Catinna.
She is survived by her two beloved children, Lindsay Sanders Rhodes and Marshall Hayes Sanders (Luka); four grandchildren, Sanders, Sterling and Marion Rhodes, and Brennan Sanders; her brother, Horace “Nick” Hayes Catinna V (Janet); her nephew, Nick Catinna; her partner, James “Jimmy” P. Locke; former husband, William “Bill” Arnold Sanders, Jr., and a large extended family of Catinnas, Marxers, and Brennans.
In her final year she especially appreciated the care and love of the staff at Belmont Village Senior Living Green Hills in Nashville, TN.
A memorial service will be held at Brentwood United Methodist Church, 309 Franklin Road, Brentwood TN 37027 on Tuesday, October 29. Visitation will begin at 12 p.m., with the service following at 1 p.m., in the old sanctuary known as the “Chapel.”
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to pflagnashville.org.
To leave a condolence, or share a memory of Cheri, please visit the Tribute Wall. https://www.austinfuneralservice.com
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