Rhonda Sanders

Our dear, beloved daughter, sister and friend Rhonda Lynn Sanders succumb to a long and painful battle this Tuesday, November 17, 2015 and a celebration of her beautiful life will be Friday November 20, 2015 at Yanda Funeral Home in Yukon.

If your heart is heavy with the loss of this life that ended far too soon imagine Rhonda rolling her eyes and waving off a hand asking instead we come together as one family to share a big delicious meal and the stories we shared with her.

Rhonda’s parents Bill and Faye Clifton moved to South Oklahoma City from Ravia, Oklahoma where they raised Rhonda along with her two sisters Nancy and Kay Ann. Rhonda would want for us to clarify that her sisters were older.

She graduated from Moore High School in 1974. But it was 1981 when she was blessed with the generosity of her sister Kay and the grace of God to have another opportunity at life. She soon married Gary Sanders and his six year old daughter Beth just before Christmas in 1982. While Beth was a step-daughter, she was the only child Rhonda ever had and the arrival of grandson Zane, who called her “Grammy” and addition of Payton built a strong bond and great love that will last long after her final breath.

With her new kidney, a new family and a renewed spirit she began the journey to become one of Yukon’s most beloved stylists. She graduated from the Duncan Brothers School of Hair Design and began her business at The Razors Edge in 1987 and retired from the Wild Hair Salon in 2013.

As one friend and client said “she was so much more than just a barber to me.” Rhonda touched lives with an art of creating great beauty that many of us never knew we had. No one left her chair without a smile on their face, even if that meant a re-do after accidentally turning your hair bright orange or pink. Family members always served as the test subjects for new styles, colors or products.

Rhonda was always lucky to have her loving sister Kay and two nephews Eric and Brian Parks nearby as she grew her business and the family expanded to include extended family and friends who were always welcome for summer barbecues. United by the connection to Rhonda.

Despite a strong faith in God and a soft voice, her biting sense of humor, innocent sarcasm and sometimes unintentional goofiness ensured there was never a dull moment.

She may have joined her sister Nancy, mother Faye and best friend Stacey in God’s kingdom this week, but she well-earned her new title as Guardian Angle for those she has left behind. Her father Bill, sister Kay of Hot Springs Village, Arkansas, nephew Brian Parks of Wilburton, OK, nephew Eric Parks and his wife Madonna and children Lincoln and Hudson of Hot Springs Village, cousins Nova, Rilda and Kathy, her last love and always friend Gary Sanders, shared daughter Beth Young, grandchildren Zane and Payton, and her best friends Ladonna, Sue, Tracy, Joyce, Mary, and Juanita.

While you may be out of our sights, you will live for eternity in our hearts, having touched our souls with great beauty that will forever run far deeper than our natural hair color.

If you are not currently an organ donor, please consider signing up at lifeshareregistry.org and let your family and friends know that you want to give a life to someone in need when you pass.