Tami Kaye (Francis) Waller, 59, surrounded by her family, passed away on May 6, 2017, after a brief battle with pancreatic cancer.

She was born in Enid, Okla., on Feb. 22, 1958, to Bill and Kaye Francis. She graduated from Enid High School, lived briefly in Seattle, Wash., and moved to Louisiana in 2000 and settled in Bogalusa, where she spent the last part of her life.

Tami graduated from Northwestern Oklahoma State University in 1992 with a RN, BSN degree and pursued an extensive career in nursing. She taught nursing school at Autry Vo-Tech in Enid, and also worked as a critical care nurse for over 20 years at various hospitals including Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, Baton Rouge General, North Oaks, Lakeview and Louisiana Heart Hospital in the New Orleans area. She later returned to her love of teaching at Northshore Technical Community College in Hammond and Bogalusa.

Tami is survived by her loving husband, Shawn, whom she met on Bourbon Street in 1998, and married in 2005. She is also survived by her mother, Kaye (Roger) Meyer of Altus, Okla.; her father, Bill (Pat) Francis of McKinney, Texas; her brother, Bill (Kim) Francis of Flower Mound, Texas; and sister, Teri (Mark) Elam of Hammond. She also leaves behind her children, Travis (Jennifer) Schoeling, of Sierra Vista, Ariz., Brooke Schoeling of Slidell; her step-children, Jennifer, Justin and Kristen; as well as her beautiful grandchildren, Brayden, Kiara, Madelyn, and Mason, whom she adored; nine step-grandchildren, her aunt, dear cousins, nephews, and many friends.

Her family wishes to extend a special thank you to the staff at St. Tammany Parish Hospital in Covington for their compassion, dedication and support in her final days. Tami had a giving heart and remained committed to helping people until her passing, and will be remembered by all whose lives she touched.

A celebration of Tami’s life will be held on Saturday, May 20, at Fontainebleau State Park, 62883 Highway 1089 in Mandeville, from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. All family and friends are welcome, no invitation necessary.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorials be sent to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital www.stjude.org in honor of Tami Waller.