|
| |
Billie Raye “Missy” McKanna, 50, of Salina, OK, passed away Wednesday, April 9, 2025, at her home surrounded by her loving family. Born June 14, 1974, in De Queen, Arkansas to Kathy Raye (Warren) and Billy Joe Vanaken, Missy was an only child who nonetheless collected siblings everywhere she went.
A 1992 graduate of Denver City, Texas High School, Missy was a band kid and a girl scout who maintained lifelong friendships with many of her classmates. With a heart too big for this world, Missy was the kind of person who held onto friendships for a lifetime, loving unconditionally and quietly expecting the same. She always had an ear and kind words for anyone who needed them. She was funny, graceful, and fiercely loyal. She was the kind of person who became best friends with her ex-husband’s new wife, even though “the only kid we share is Ray, but that’s enough.”
She was a pre-school teacher, an avid reader, a lover of great TV shows, music, and football. She was the ultimate Tom Brady fan, following him through his entire career. When he retired, she cheered for Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs. Monday nights will forever be too quiet without her. She believed Thanksgiving was the best holiday, because it was about sharing love, food, gratitude, football, beer, and memories. Missy wanted the world to be a better place. She knew it could be if only people would choose kindness, so she did her best to exemplify that. She wanted everyone to be happy, to feel loved, and to live life on their own terms. “So, I close my eyes softly, till I become that part of the wind that we all long for sometimes. And to those that I love, like a ghost through a fog, like a charmed hour and a haunted song and the angel of my dreams.”
Preceding her in death were all her grandparents, aunts, and her father, Billy Joe Vanaken. Surviving family includes her beloved mother, Kathy Gallagher, her “cousin-sibling-friends” James Collins, Johnanna Oglesby, Byron Oglesby, & Ashley Deen, one step-sister, Melissa Nicholas, an uncle, Brian Warren, and many beloved cousins.
The family will hold private services at a later date.
Online condolences may be made at www.stephens-key.com or on the funeral home Facebook page.
Arrangements are in care of Stephens-Key Funeral and Cremation Care of Pryor.
This site may be freely linked, but not duplicated in any way without consent.
All rights reserved! Commercial use of material within this site is prohibited!
© 2000-2026 Oklahoma CemeteriesThe information on this site is provided free for the purpose of researching your genealogy. This material may be freely used by non-commercial entities, for your own research, as long as this message remains on all copied material. The information contained in this site may not be copied to any other site without written "snail-mail" permission. If you wish to have a copy of a donor's material, you must have their permission. All information found on these pages is under copyright of Oklahoma Cemeteries. This is to protect any and all information donated. The original submitter or source of the information will retain their copyright. Unless otherwise stated, any donated material is given to Oklahoma Cemeteries to make it available online. This material will always be available at no cost, it will always remain free to the researcher.