Dawson Wilnoty, age 27, from Cherokee, passed away unexpectedly on Saturday, Feb. 28, 2026. He was born Oct. 25, 1998 to Michael and Savannah Wilnoty. He was the grandson of Cleo and Chief Jonathan Taylor and the late Harriet James Seqyouyah and Bernard Wilnoty.
Dawson was a 2017 graduate of Cherokee High School, where he played for the Cherokee Braves football team. He was the brightest light in every room he walked into, known for his big smile, loud laugh, and the kind of presence you never forget.
He loved the New Orleans Saints football team, standing by his team through every season. He was an avid Star Wars fan and always had country or rock music playing somewhere nearby. Those things brought him joy, but it was his love for people that truly defined him.
Dawson was preceded in death by his older brother, Dennie Wilnoty, along with other beloved family members, Topper Taylor (uncle), Sherry Southards (aunt), Edith McCall (aunt), Frances Taylor (aunt), Bernice Swayney (aunt), Caroline Wilnoty (aunt) and Dennie Wilnoty (uncle), as well as many close friends and classmates gone too soon. We find comfort in knowing they are together again.
He leaves behind his mom and dad, Mike and Savannah, who loved him endlessly; his sister and brother-in-law, Taylor and Lucas, who will forever carry both the pride and privilege of being his; and his niece and nephew, Ayla and Elijah, who will grow up knowing how much their uncle loved them. He also leaves behind two special aunts, Denise Ballard and Terry Taylor, as well as close cousins, Kaniah and Onyx, Jacelyn, Lavayah, and Akino, and numerous extended family and close friends whose lives are better because he was part of them.
Funeral services for Dawson will be held on Thursday, March 5 at the Peaches Squirrel Sports & Recreation Center at 1 p.m., with the burial to follow at 2 p.m. at the Yellowhill Baptist Church Cemetery. The family invites all who knew and loved him to come celebrate his life and the light he brought into this world.
Pallbearers will be brothers: Daniel Fuller, John Tramper, Jeffery Girty, and Dodge Crowe; close friends: George, Steve, and Buster Swayney; brother-in-law, Lucas Watson; cousin, Braylon James; and uncle, Bug James.
ᏕᎾᏓᎪᎯᏳ – Denadagohiyu, until we meet again.