Lannetta Marie Ousley

When Lannetta Ousley was born, doctors predicted that she wouldn’t live for more than five years. But through the love, care and patience of her family, the little girl affectionately known as Nette-Nette, beat the odds. Not only did Lannetta live beyond the age of 5, but she learned to walk, go up and down the stairs, dress herself, feed herself, dance and otherwise live a full and happy life. Every Sunday at 7 p.m., Lannnetta and her dad, Milton Sr., listened to the oldies and danced until midnight. “She enjoyed Michael Jackson, Teddy Pendergrass, all the oldies,” he recalled with a smile. She also loved playing with her pillows, eating Cheerios from her favorite bowl, watching her dad prepare meals in the kitchen, spending time with her nieces and nephew, and attending the Collingswood Cerebral Palsy Adult Activity Center, where she had gone for the last 26 years. But more than anything, Lannetta loved to go riding in the car. “She liked to get out and she liked to ride. She didn’t care where,” said her younger brother, Milton Jr. Lannetta Marie Ousley was born July 25, 1967 in Chelsea, Massachusetts, the first of two children of Milton Ousley, Sr. and Brenda Ousley. Shortly after her birth at the Naval Hospital, she was diagnosed with Down’s syndrome, a genetic disorder that causes developmental and intellectual delays. But her mom and dad never viewed Down’s syndrome as a handicap or allowed her or others to do so either. The family moved to Philadelphia in 1969 and to New Jersey in 1978. Lannetta lived happily with her family in Lawnside until her passing on June 16th at Our Lady of Lourdes Medical Center in Camden, New Jersey. She was 47. “Our relationship was different growing up because she couldn’t talk, but we understood each other,” her brother said. “It took her a minute to get used to me because she had been the baby, but we had unconditional love. She was special.” “We had a lot in common,” he added. “We had a healthy appetite. We did devilish things together as kids. She used to try to get at me when we were kids and went from sliding around on the floor to walking.” “I think about how I used to take care of her and hug and kiss her and make her smile,” her dad said. “She wasn’t vocal, but I could always tell how she was feeling by giving her a hug. She did what she wanted. Everywhere we went, she went. She was happy, she was loved and she had a very good life.” “She didn’t have a handicap,” he added. “She just couldn’t do certain things. But over time, she learned.” Lannetta leaves to cherish her memory, her mother, Brenda Ousley; her father, Milton Ousley, Sr.; her brother, Milton Ousley, Jr.; her sister-in-law, Maggie Ousley; her nieces, Ciera and Jasmine; her nephew, Milton III; and a host of aunts, uncles and cousins. To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Lannetta Marie Ousley, please visit our Heartfelt Sympathies Store.

Lannetta Marie Ousley

July 25, 1967 - June 16, 2015