1933
2019
Lavina Jeffords
Lavina "Joie" Josephine Roose Jeffords was born March 19, 1933, in the Fort Chaffee area. She spent her first few years there as a young child and then moved to the Dayton-Mansfield area. She graduated from Mansfield High School in 1952. Upon graduation she traveled to Washington, D.C., where she began her career working for the FBI. She would later transfer to the Navy Department.
She met and married the love of her life, Clifford Harold Jeffords, in 1955. She suddenly became the wife of a career Air Force officer and would spend the next 20 years moving many times with her husband. During this time she had two beautiful children, Glenn and Janet.
Upon her husbands Air Force retirement, she and Clifford moved the family to Washington, D.C., where they both worked for the U.S. House of Representatives. They eventually returned back to her hometown of Fort Smith. Joie was a wonderful mother, wife and grandmother. Her greatest joy was the role of grandmother. She raised her beloved grandson, Vann Jeffords, and loved having her granddaughter, Analisa Parr, visit her at her home during the summer.
Joie was a lifelong member of Dayton Church of Christ. She reigned as Ms. Senior Arkansas in 1995 and was a member of many clubs and organizations in the area. She participated in volunteer work for St. Jude Hospital. She loved to garden, cook and dress up beautifully. Joie was also a lifelong member of the Democratic Party and an avid Razorback fan.
She was preceded by her husband, Clifford Jeffords; and her son, Glenn Jeffords.
She is survived by her daughter, Janet Jeffords Parr and Brad Parr of Dallas; her granddaughter, Analisa Parr also of Dallas; and grandson, Vann Jeffords of Greenwood. She is also survived by many nieces, nephews and her little dog, Sophie.
Funeral service will be 11 a.m. Friday, June 21, 2019, at Dayton Church of Christ with burial at the U.S. National Cemetery in Fort Smith, under the direction of McConnell Funeral Home in Greenwood.
Visitation will begin at 10 a.m. Thursday, before the service at the church.
Honorary pallbearers are Ronald Metcalf, Kevin Jones, Chris Hansen, Dana Jeffords, Glenn McDaniel and Destiny Dyer.
To sign her online guestbook, please visit www.mcconnellfh.com.
To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.
Sponsored by McConnell Funeral Home.
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