Delores B Cantrell

Delores B. Cantrell, born on September 13th, 1953, peacefully departed on Saturday, February 24, 2024, at her home, surrounded by her loving family. Words fail to appropriately capture what Delores meant to the many people who knew and loved her. She was a loving mother and devoted wife of 45 years. The only role that she might have loved more was being “Nana” to her five granddaughters.

Delores was fiercely protective of those she loved. She guided us through the darkest of nights and made the brightest of days all the better. She was the family ringleader and was always plotting a new adventure. She organized family holidays, vacations, menus, cookouts, the annual Cantrell Halloween Haunted Egg Hunt, and “barn parties” that are too numerous to count.

She was kind, loving, and loyal to a fault. Delores would heal you when you were hurt, soothe you when you were sick, but tell it to you straight when truth was the best medicine. She never had a “profession,” but had perhaps the toughest job of all raising two twin sons. She was a baseball mom, PTA volunteer, church volunteer, and always actively involved in anything that her family was a part of.

Delores made lifelong friendships that turned friends into extended family. She was one of those rare people who truly listened and heard you no matter the issue. If you knew Delores, then you never had to question whether she loved you and you always knew where you stood with her…good or bad.

Her greatest adventure unfolded over the last two years as she faced her cancer diagnosis. Even in the middle of treatment and surgery her focus remained where it had always been, on her family and loved ones. She faced treatment with a resolve and strength that surprised everyone. She didn’t complain, at least not often, and was always focused on the adventures coming when she was better. And she did get better. She was cancer free for a year before it came roaring back in a frighteningly aggressive way late in 2023.

She faced the end as she had faced life, by planning and welcoming the journey ahead. Her courage and consideration for her loved ones touched everyone who knew her, offering comfort and support to her friends and family even in her final days. As much as she tried, there is really nothing that can prepare you for losing a force as strong as Delores in your life. The days that have followed have seemed like weeks and the gravity of the world seems to have shifted so much that it seems hard to find balance. But there is comfort in knowing that she is still a part of each of us and will one day be guiding us on our journey home to meet her again.

Delores is preceded in death by her father, James Bennett; mother, Alda Bennett; brother, Melvin Wilson; sister, Nellie Bennett; brothers-in-law James and Joe Cantrell; and uncle, Ronnie Stanley. She is survived by her devoted husband of 45 years, Mickey Cantrell; her two sons, Joseph and Mickey Cantrell; daughters-in-law, Jennifer and Leeann Cantrell; granddaughters, Emma, Elli, Blakely, Audra, and Merryn Cantrell; brothers, Anzel Wilson, John Bennett, and James Bennett; and Aunt Patsy Stanley.

In honoring Delores's memory, let us remember the love, strength, and indomitable spirit that defined her life. May she rest in eternal peace.