Paula Jane Kackley

Paula Jane Henson Kackley, age 61, died on Friday, June 6, 2025 at Arkansas Methodist Medical Center in Paragould, Arkansas. She was a long time resident of Kennett, Missouri, most recently at National Health Care Center in Kennett. She was born in San Diego, California, on Oct 27, 1963, while her father was serving in the Marine Corps. She was the daughter of the late Winfred Bond Henson and the late Barbara Sharp Henson.
Paula is survived by her only child, Ruth Ann Kackley, of Essex, Missouri. The youngest of three children, Paula is also remembered by her sister Patricia "Patty" Jean Henson Sullivan and her husband, Timothy Michael Sullivan of Fayetteville, Arkansas, and their children, Warren Benjamin Sullivan, of Lowell, Arkansas and Dr. Sarah Sullivan of St. Louis, Missouri. She also leaves her brother, Parry Win Henson, his son, Conner Win Henson, Conner's wife, Crystal Youmans Henson and their children, Cade Edward Win Henson and Noa Jean Henson, all of Kennett.
Paula's life was marked by illness and great perseverance. In 1970, the year her family returned to Kennett after her father retired from the Marine Corps, Paula was diagnosed with childhood leukemia and treated at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee, for several years beginning in 1970. Her recovery was unusual for the time and she had years of good health before being diagnosed with another form of leukemia. She received an experimental bone marrow transplant in 1988 at Barnes Hospital in St. Louis, Missouri. Paula was extraordinary - very few people in her cohort survived these illnesses. But in recent years, the treatments she received, compounded by other medical complications, made her life difficult. In spite of her medical ordeal, she took great pleasure in her family, friends and kitty cats. She was always quick to laugh or share a joke.
Paula was a graduate of Kennett High School, Class of 1982 and attended Arkansas State University. She had worked on an education degree and was proud of the work she did to create a library literacy program in Dunklin County.
Paula will be laid to rest near four generations of her family in the Horner Cemetery, in Hornersville, Missouri. McDaniel Funeral Home in Kennett will handle the arrangements, with graveside services Thursday, June 19, at 10 am. Donations in Paula's memory may be made to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.
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