Cheryl (Cheri) Lee Jones

Cheryl (Cheri) Lee Jones, F.M.J.C.  entered Eternal Life on Wednesday, January 21, 2026. Cheri was born on August 13, 1949, in Burbank, California to Frances H. Pierre (Grandma Tense) and Thomas W. Jones. She attended Saint Frances Cabrini Catholic Girls School in California. In High School she joined the junior Carmelites and when she graduated, she formally entered the Carmelite Sisters for the Aged and Infirm. Her Carmelite name was Peter Ann. She was a Registered Nurse, and she served in several of the Carmelite Nursing Homes run by her order.

In 1989 her mother, Frances needed care in a Nursing Home. Cheri decided to care for her mother at home and received a dispensation from her Vows to care for her mother. Her mother was a seamstress and made many of the costumes and clothing for the movie stars. While she was caring for her mother she became a deputy sheriff in San Bernardino County in California. She was known as Cheri Lee the Nun with the gun. She also volunteered in the Blood Bank in Riverside, California.

Cheri’s Stepfather was Karl Suessdorf who was a composer. Cheri’s favorite song and his most famous song was “Moonlight in Vermont”. He called her “Little Red” her Mother was “Big Red” Cheri was raised around Hollywood and had good memories of various actors. She was a very talented musician and had a beautiful voice. Her hobbies were horses (especially miniature horses), reading, building things in and around her home, Serving God, caring for others, and helping them. Over the years when she was in Rehab after her back surgeries, she helped the other patients and taught them the Rosary. She never really was a retired Nurse, she lived it every moment of her life as she helped others.

She was injured while working as a deputy sheriff and had severe back and neck injuries. She had at least eight back surgeries and some neck surgeries. She suffered a great deal in her lifetime.

In 2015 she became a Candidate in the Franciscan Missionaries of Jesus Crucified, F.M.J.C. In 2020 she took her Final Vows. Cheri shared a house with Alice Cortez, FMJC for eight years. The last two years of Cheri’s life she lived in Rehab Facilities that could help her with her back issues.

Cheri was in a Hospice in Tucson when she died. She was surrounded by Alice Cortez, FMJC; Sylvia Montoya, Eucharistic Minister; Jerry and Filly Nelson, Dolores Cameron, FMJC, and Elaine Bernal. Father Martin Atanga arrived shortly after she passed and gave her Last Rites.

Cheri was preceded in death by her parents, her stepfather Karl Suessdorf; her brothers Charles W. Reaume (Buddy) and Pierre A. Reaume (Sunny); her niece Angelique; her nephew John Pierre Reaume, and two sisters in law.

She is survived by four nieces, one nephew, and several grandnephews and grandnieces.

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