Cherisse Ontez Thompson graduated from Gupton- Jones College of Funeral Services in Stone Mountain, Ga., on Aug. 24, 2007. She is a 1992 graduate of Myers Park High School in Charlotte, N.C.

Thompson is the daughter of Harold Maurice and Sallie Thompson of Charlotte. Her paternal grandparents are the late Horace and Ira Thompson who lived in Blacksburg and maternal grandparents are the late Roosevelt and Sallie Cherry who lived in Charlotte.