Donivee Janet Launius Chaney

Donivee Janet Launius Chaney was a beloved daughter, sister, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, and a devoted Christian during her nearly 85 years of life. She passed away peacefully in her home on Monday, May 23, 2022.

She had a long life that was full of love of family. She was born to two loving parents, Dovie McGuffin Launius and Louie Launius on June 7, 1937. She was the oldest of four children. Her brothers Leon and Wesley survive her in death, while her sister Drucella Holderfield preceded her in 2014.

Donivee had three children of her own: David Ralston, Anita Ralston, and Janet Jordan. She suffered what no parent should have to endure and lost two of her children, David (survived by wife Dianna) and Janet (survived by husband Eddie), much too early. Her sole child to survive her, Anita, was by her side when she passed.

Donivee was a life-long resident of Oklahoma. She was raised in Bristow and was a graduate of Bristow High School. She had a long career at Bartlett Memorial Hospital in Sapulpa providing and overseeing administrative services. During her retirement, she enjoyed spending time with her church family and the simple pleasures of country life. She enjoyed raising chickens and cows, bird watching, the company of her two Yorkies, Roxy and Misty Dawn, spending time with her greatgrandaughters that lived nearby, and vanilla milkshakes.

However, such details of a life cannot encompass what she meant to so many.

The Grandmother that will live on in my memory had a stern exterior but was a woman full of love and generosity. She was the woman who taught me what strength looked like. She did not abide nonsense, but she gave the best hugs. She was not grandma, or granny, or nana—she was Grandmother, as her mother was before her, and which denoted the respect that she deserved as our matriarch---although, such formality slipped away in later years and younger grandchildren than me knew her as grandma. She was the woman that only needed to raise her left eyebrow to stop me fidgeting in church on a Sunday morning instantaneously.

She was also the woman who taught me what kindness and generosity could look like. She taught me to cook. I spent time preparing food with her Sunday after church or before church in preparation for fellowship dinner. She showed me how to make just about anything with a bag of self-rising flour and she is the person to be blamed when anyone asks me for a recipe and I don’t have one.

She was a huge and influential presence in my life and the lives of many others, and yet, as I try and write these words, I realize she is also someone I wish I had known better.

In her final days, Donivee was visited by many grandchildren and greatgrandchildren traveling from New Mexico, Arkansas, and Georgia to say goodbye to a woman who meant so much to them. She is survived in death by a multitude of grandchildren: Michelle Haubert and partner William Goodin, Amber Ralston, Sean Haubert and wife Amanda, Brandon Haubert and wife Jessica Hall, Amanda Ralston De Oliveira and husband Wislei, Erin Stephenson, Joseph Jordan, and Chuck Norton and wife Janie.

And, she is survived by many great-grandchildren, as well: Erebella Haubert, Carrie and Caylee Norton, Thomas and Andrew Hall, Zoë Stephenson, Elizabeth and Lila Haubert, Ethan De Oliveira, and Joe and Ayana Jensen.

For those that were around in her final days, they are aware of the toll that dementia had taken. A debt of gratitude that can never be repaid is owed to Janie and Chuck Norton for their endless love and support for the last several years. The family also extends special thanks to Traditions Hospice for the care they provided in her final days.

Donivee chose to donate her body to science and it is her family’s hope that her act will lead to additional information that can help prevent and treat dementia for others. The family has chosen not to hold a memorial service, but instead asks that anyone wishing to honor Donivee’s memory do so by continuing with Donivee’s contribution to medical research by making a donation in her honor to the Cure Alzheimer’s Fund at https://curealz.org/giving/donate.