Jami Hackney

Jami D'Ann Hackney was born on September 11, 1959, to Barney Hackney, Jr. and to Peggy Jo (Potts) Hackney in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.  She passed away unexpectedly in her sleep on June 27, 2022, at her home in Chickasha, OK, at the age of 62.

Memorial Services will be held on Saturday, July 9, 2022, at the USAO Alumni Chapel at the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma campus at 11:00 am with Rev. Sheri T. Dickerson officiating.

Jami graduated from Chickasha High School in 1977.  After graduation, she was accepted into Oklahoma Baptist University where she attended from the fall of 1977 to December of 1980.  Upon leaving OBU, Jami worked for First National Bank and Trust Company of Oklahoma City, and in 1981, she enlisted in the United States Army Reserves.  A rare leg disease prohibited her from finishing her training.  She later moved to Arizona and from there to California, where she loved being by the ocean.  In 1992, she moved back to Oklahoma and worked as a bookkeeper for McBride's Construction Company in Edmond.  In July of that year, Jami met the woman who would become her wife, Tonnia L. Anderson, and she relocated to New Haven, Connecticut, to start a new life and pursue her dreams.

Jami was a brilliant woman who loved learning. She had always wanted to finish her undergraduate degree, and was accepted into Southern Connecticut State University where she obtained her Bachelor of Science degree Magna Cum Laude in the spring of 1996, majoring in Sociology and minoring in Race & Ethnic Relations.  During her senior year, Jami received the highest undergraduate student award from the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at SCSU.

In the fall of 1996, she was accepted into the Master's Program for Sociology at the University of Oklahoma.  She finished the program, except for her MS Thesis when she was diagnosed with fibromyalgia.  Though she wasn't able to complete her MS degree due to health issues, this setback opened the door for her true calling as a psychotherapist.  In 1999, she was accepted into the Master's program for the Department of Human Relations with an emphasis in counseling.  She graduated with honors in 2001, and upon completing clinical supervision, she became a Licensed Professional Counselor.

Jami excelled as a therapist.  She was extremely knowledgeable and gifted. She also fundamentally cared about the well-being of others.  Even as a teenager, she had a gift for working with people to help them see their own beauty and self-worth.  Over the years, she sub-contracted at various mental health agencies.  But one of her proudest moments was when she was able to open Rainbow Counseling Services in 2018 in downtown Chickasha.  Her ability to help her clients filled her heart with meaning and joy in spite of the health challenges she struggled with on a day-to-day basis.

Jami is survived by her wife, Dr. Tonnia L. Anderson of the home in Chickasha, Oklahoma; her aunts, Joyce (Hackney) Moore of Lindsey, Oklahoma, Gladys Trammell of Harrah, Oklahoma; her uncles Travis Hackney and Joe Hackney of Blanchard, Oklahoma, and Frank Potts of Bray, Oklahoma; her nieces, Amanda Hackney of Shawnee, Oklahoma, Sara Bruno of Tecumseh, Oklahoma, and Megan Hackney of Seminole, Oklahoma.  A host of cousins exist, including Deanie Hackney of Purcell, Oklahoma, who helped reconnect Jami with her brother, and Marci Davenport  of Purcell, Oklahoma, whose mother Wilma Harmon helped Jami and Tonnia care for Jami's brother Mark as he battled cancer.

Jami was preceded in death by her:  brother, Mark D. Hackney; mother, Peggy Jo Crutcher; and father, Barney Hackney, Jr.

Jami left the imprint of love on all of those she touched.  Jami truly lived a meaningful life filled will love, compassion, and generosity.  She will be missed dearly, but the beacon of light and love that glowed fiercely within her will remain forever.