Monica was born to parents William F. Lanier and Bernice Watson Lanier on February 15th, 1955 in Memphis, TN. She attended the University of Tennessee at Martin and earned a Bachelor in Music Education with an emphasis on Vocal Performance. She channeled her love of music into her career of teaching music in elementary, middle, and high school settings for 30+ years. Monica is survived by her son, Robert de Tuya, her younger sister Charlotte Lanier, nephew Lanier Lannom, and niece Lindsay Lannom.
A memorial service will be held on at 2:00 PM CST on November 12th at Memphis Funeral Home in Bartlett, TN. Monica will be cremated, and her son Robert plans to scatter her ashes in Salzburg, Austria – the birthplace of Monica’s favorite Western classical composer: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Additionally, Monica loved all the works produced by the creative pairing of Rodgers and Hammerstein, but her favorite by far was The Sound of Music. Many of the scenes from the 1965 movie adaptation were shot in the Salzburg area, and though she wasn’t able to travel there in her life, her ashes will be scattered in a place she always dreamed of visiting.
