Episode 110: Cheryl Deas, Mom, Founder and President, Darnell Deas, Jr., Marvelous Light Foundation

Written By Susie Gurley

I heard Cheryl speak at the National Federation of Families Conference (https://www.ffcmh.org/) in November of 2024, where she very vulnerably shared her experience of losing her son, DJ, to suicide seven years ago. On this episode, Cheryl talks about what a gifted athlete and student DJ was, and how she and her husband had no idea that DJ was struggling. Cheryl candidly discusses the hours, days, and weeks following DJ’s suicide and how their friends and community surrounded them and held them up during this time. Cheryl offers advice and tips to parents based on what she has learned since DJ’s death, as well as how her Christian faith has sustained her and led her to the establishment of the DJ Deas Marvelous Light Foundation (https://djdeasmarvelouslightfoundation.com). Cheryl’s life passion is to prevent another family from experiencing death by suicide. Cheryl wants people to know that even on the darkest days, there is still hope, and it’s ok to not be ok.

Susie Gurley

Susie Stapp Gurley was born and raised in Bartlesville, Oklahoma. She married her college sweetheart, Dan Gurley, shortly after graduating from TCU with a degree in advertising and public relations. In her first career, Susie worked in college admissions and academic advising. Simultaneously she pursued a master’s degree from The University of Central Missouri in sociology and then worked for the Sedgwick County, KS Department of Aging as a case worker. Susie stepped away from the professional world in 1997 to become a stay-at-home mom. She spent the majority of the last 25 years as a wife, mother, and volunteer, primarily in her church and her three children’s schools and activities.

Susie became a mental health advocate after her youngest son became a teen spokesperson about his battle with depression, anxiety, and suicidal ideation. In 2018, at the age of 15, Will founded the You Matter Festival, a music festival promoting mental health awareness and suicide prevention. Will shared his personal mental health struggles with the 1,000-person crowd, which started his role as a local KC teen advocate for mental health. Because of Will’s involvement, Susie recorded a video #Zeroreasonswhy (https://zeroreasonswhy.org), a Kansas City area organization working to end teen suicide in the Johnson County, Kansas area. This video was viewed over 10,000 times, which was the impetus of the Just A Mom podcast. Susie decided that she needed to follow the brave trail blazed by her son and became an outspoken advocate for parents of children who struggle with mental illness. The Just a Mom podcast launched in September of 2022 and encourages parents to know that they are not alone and there is hope.

Susie served as the Executive Director of the You Matter Festival and is currently on the Friends of Johnson County Mental Health Board. Susie has grown three children, two daughters-in-law, and a son-in-law.

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Episode 111: Iuri Melo, Licensed Clinical Social Worker, Author, and Cofounder of SchoolPulse
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Episode 109: Kelly Jackson, Mom and Executive Director of NAMI Johnson County, Kansas Part 2