Joyce Ann Henard

   Joyce Ann Hunt Henard, lovingly known as “Memaw,” was born on April 30, 1934, in Hunter, Arkansas, to Lester Clyde Hunt and Lollie Mae Thomas Hunt. She was the fourth of six children. Joyce was raised in a close-knit family and was deeply shaped by the values of faith, love, and service that guided her throughout her life.

   Joyce professed her faith in Jesus Christ at an early age, beginning a lifelong walk with the Lord that would define who she was. Her faith was the foundation of her life; guiding her marriage, her parenting, and the way she loved and served others. She faithfully attended church for many years and lived out her faith every day. When her health and her beloved Bobby’s health kept them from attending in person, she still never missed worship, often tuning in to Jimmy Swaggart or Charles Stanley, and on some days, she would even watch both! She continued to pray faithfully for her family and encouraged everyone around her to trust in Jesus.

   She was a 1952 graduate of Brinkley High School, having attended Hunter School until it merged with Brinkley. Joyce was a talented half-court basketball player during her school years. At age 10, her parents owned a café in Hunter, and Joyce regularly helped her mother in the kitchen. Each Saturday, she rolled out 200 hamburgers and cooked them in an iron skillet, selling them for $0.15 each. On Saturday nights, she and her mother would babysit children from the community while her father loaded the parents into the back of his truck for $0.25 each to take them to the movies in Brinkley. The café had a jukebox, and anyone from age 2 to 85 would Jitterbug to the music. Joyce and her family briefly moved to Oak Grove, Louisiana, for one year while she was in school due to her father losing his farming job.

   After high school, Joyce moved to Memphis, Tennessee, to live with her paternal grandmother, Maw Hunt. At just 19 years old, she married the love of her life, “a wonderful guy from Zent,” as she often shared. She and Bobby were married on May 2, 1953, at the Hunter United Methodist Church. Their marriage of 61 years was a beautiful testimony of devotion, faith, and unconditional love, with Christ always at the center of their home.   

   Joyce and Bobby were blessed with three children, eight grandchildren, and 13 ½ great-grandchildren, each of whom she loved deeply and prayed over faithfully. Her family was her greatest earthly joy, and she found her greatest purpose in loving them well.

   Shortly after their marriage, Bobby quit his job at the local bank making $160 a month and moved with Joyce to Memphis, where they lived at Maw Hunt’s boarding house at 590 Poplar. Their rent was $1 a day for one room. Joyce often recalled that Maw Hunt would have supper with them every night while they lived there. Joyce worked for Frost Arnett in collections, earning $140 a month, while Bobby worked as an armored teller at Bank of Commerce in a tiny 10x10 locked room, counting money from UPS deliveries. After three months, Mr. Weis of Weis Oil & Fuel Company offered both Joyce and Bobby jobs in Wheatley and Brinkley. They were excited for the opportunity and had quickly realized city life was not for them, so they returned to Arkansas. They lived with Bobby’s parents for nine months in Cotton Plant, then lived in an apartment for one year in Brinkley. During this time, their first child, Jacquelyn, was born.  They later moved to Wheatley, renting and eventually purchasing a four-bedroom home, where they welcomed their two sons, Alan and Gary. Bobby worked for Mr. Weis for 13 years. In September of 1965, he and Joyce saw the potential need for a tire business in Brinkley and opened Bobby Henard Tire Service. They started out by fixing flats for $0.49 each. Joyce served as the bookkeeper, helping to grow the business while they built a life centered on faith, family, and community. In 1980, they moved to Brinkley, where Joyce continued to be a constant source of love and encouragement to her family. Their deep love for one another never wavered.

   Joyce was an active and devoted member of the Wheatley United Methodist Church, where she served faithfully for many years. She volunteered with the women’s group, Aglow, and other church ministries including the Administrative Counsel, United Methodist Women where she served as the president, MYF, and was a Sunday School Teacher. Later, she and Bobby moved their membership to Brinkley First United Methodist Church, where she served on many committees, most notably she was the chairman of the bereavement committee, ensuring families always had a comforting meal after the loss of a loved one. Joyce was also a member of the unofficial lady’s group in Wheatley called, “The Sunshine Girls.” She was a true servant of God, quietly and humbly living out her faith through kindness, prayer, and generosity.

   Her greatest loves were God, her husband Bobby, and her family—especially her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. Joyce worked diligently to instill a love for Jesus in her family, leaving behind a spiritual legacy that will continue for generations.

   On Saturday night, January 3, 2026, after family Christmas, at the age of 91, surrounded by her loving family at her daughter’s home, Joyce went home to be with Jesus. While she leaves a deep hole in our hearts, we are comforted by the assurance that she is now rejoicing in heaven with loved ones who have gone before her, and we know we will see her again.

   Joyce was preceded in death by her beloved husband of 61 years, Robert Lester “Bobby” Henard (2014); her parents, Lester Clyde Hunt (1987) and Lollie Mae Thomas Hunt (1984); sisters, Mable Hunt Rogers (2024) and Ernestine Faye Melvin (2006); and brothers, Wendell Udell Hunt (2019) and Billy Joe Hunt (1995).

   She is survived by one sister, Glenda “Gert” Hunt; her three children, all of Brinkley—Jacquelyn (and her husband Dennie), Alan, and Gary (and his wife Mary Ellen); eight grandchildren—Amber Geisler of Maumelle; Blake Geisler (and fiancé Dara) of Brinkley; Kenna Henard Womack (and husband Ryan) of Jonesboro; Morgan Henard of Brinkley; Kacey Henard Higgins (and husband Jeffrey) of Jonesboro; Kori Henard Taylor (and husband Matt) of Marion; Jordan Geisler (and his wife Julia) of Brinkley; and Karagon Henard Prestidge (and her husband Brayden) of Jonesboro; and 13 ½ great-grandchildren—Eli and Kennedy Womack; Mary Harper, Jack and George Higgins; Rafe and Andi Taylor; Brynlee and Bailey Prestidge; Preslee Townsend; and Rose, Caroline, Carl and Baby Boy Geisler due in April 2026.

   Joyce leaves behind a legacy of faith, love, and devotion to family that will continue to live on through the generations she so faithfully nurtured. Her prayers covered her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren, and her example of walking humbly with the Lord will forever guide their lives. Though she is no longer with us, the values she instilled, the love she gave so freely, and the faith she lived out daily will remain a lasting testimony of a life well lived and a woman who truly feared the Lord.

The family is deeply grateful for the outpouring of love, prayers, and support. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that memorials be made to a charitable organization of your choice, in honor of Joyce’s generous spirit.