| Ceaira J. "Boo" Walker "Never Give Up" | ||||||||
Ceaira Jean "Boo" Walker, 15, of Knob Noster, passed away Sunday, July 22, 2012, at her home. She was born Oct. 26, 1996, in Siloam Springs, Ark.  Ceaira was an eighth-grade student at Knob Noster Middle School and was the recipient of the Ceaira Jean Walker Award, an honor given for her incredible strength and courage in times of trial. Ceaira is survived by her parents, Bill and Shantell Swearengin of Knob Noster; three brothers, Ronald, William and Charles Swearengin, all of Knob Noster; two sisters, Mary Jane Swearengin of Knob Noster and Kassydi Walker of Mannford, Okla.; maternal grandfather, Alfred Walker of Stockton, Calif.; maternal great-grandmother, Lorene Walker of Stockton, Calif.; paternal grandmother, Debbie Garisser of West Siloam Springs, Okla.; one aunt, Loretta Hawkins and husband, Herb, of Avoca, Ark.; and several aunts and uncles. Funeral services will be held at 10 a.m. Thursday, July 26, at the Knob Noster Middle School, with the Rev. Richard Ricard officiating. Pallbearers will be Herb Hawkins, Bill Swearengin, Rick Sayler, Hunter Simmons and Junior Swearengin. Interment will follow at Knob Noster Cemetery. The family will receive friends from 6 to 8 p.m. Wednesday, July 25, at Sweeney-Phillips & Holdren Funeral Home in Warrensburg. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions are suggested to Ceaira Jean Walker Memorial Fund with checks made payable to Shantell Swearengin and they can be left in care of the funeral home in Warrensburg. 
Ceaira Walker is August Student of the Month
Congratulations to Ceaira Walker, the August Student of the Month.
Ceaira is an 8th grader who loves going to movies, dances, and hanging out with her friends. She also listens to music, Rascal Flats being her favorite group. She comes from a big family with four brothers and three sisters. Two two cats named Tigger and Tiger and one dog, Sarah, are also part of her family.
Ceaira was nominated by Mrs. Sandra Welly, her communication arts teacher. She admires Ceaira for her courage and strength as she struggles with Stage IV brain cancer. Diagnosed last October, she has undergone two surgeries and several rounds of radiation and chemotherapy. "Since her illness began, Ceaira has not voiced one complaint," Welly said. "She is amazing. She is a support to her mother, she comes to school every day that she is able, and she continues to work hard to complete tasks and stay in school mode."
Ceaira daily inspires all the students and faculty with her quiet determination and kindness.
Prom Night for Ceaira Walker
May 21, 2012 was a emorable night for KNMS with the special eighth grade prom given in honor of Ceaira Walker, a classmate who has been fighting cancer for almost two years. Fox 4 News-Kansas City heard about the prom plans, and through their coverage and word of mouth, donations poured in. Area businesses and individuals contributed everything from prom dresses for all the eighth grade girls to food to music to limousine services and more to make Ceaira’s evening one that she, her family, and KNMS will never forget. Watch the news coverage here:
Prom Plans: Original broadcast aired May 16, 2012:
Video Link
 Girl With Brain CancerGets Prom Wish
KNOB NOSTER, Mo. – A limousine pulls up in front of Knob Noster Middle school just in time for a prom. Ceaira Walker climbs out wearing a light blue tool dress. Her date is in hand and they walk down a makeshift red carpet toward the school cafeteria.
Walker captures the moments at prom with a camera, dances with her boyfriend and does a lot of crying. That’s because for the first time in less than two years, she feels like a normal teenager.
“Thank you,” Walker said to FOX 4 when asked about what she’d like to say to the public.
Walker was diagnosed with glioblastoma, a form of brain cancer in late 2010. It was stage four, and the prognosis wasn’t good, so she made the choice to stop treatment. She said she wanted to enjoy being like any other girl her age, anticipating events like prom.
This prom themed “Never Give Up” is one the school organized in less than a week.
“When you see her day in and day out and knowing that this was a request that she had, and just playing a small part in being able to make that come true, it’s going to be overwhelming,” said Brett Hieronymous, Knob Noster Middle School’s principal.
But the school didn’t do it alone. In fact, Hieronymous said they not only got help from local businesses with the food spread, or the decorations, or even, the glamorous dresses some of the girls are wearing. He said, they got donations from as far-reaching as a towns in Kansas.
“Very blessed that there is such wonderful giving people, with good hearts,” said Shantell Swearengin, Walker’s mother.
Walker’s friends said they are repaying her in a small way for the way she has touched their hearts in a big way.
Knob Noster Middle School created an award to honor Walker. It’s called the Ceaira Walker Award. It will go to her this year and in the future, it will be given to any student who shows courage in trying times.
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Started in 2008 as a 1973 class reunion page by Bruce Uhler. At a request by the Johnson County Historical Society this page has been shared for free to the Society since 2017 and does not generate revenue.
July 24, 2012
Ceaira J. "Boo" Walker, Amazing Young Lady from Knob Noster, Johnson County, Missouri, Passed Away
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