Sonya L Godwin

Sonya Temperance Lorenz Godwin (1938–2025)

Sonya Temperance Lorenz Godwin, age 87, of Prescott, Arkansas, passed away peacefully on December 7, 2025, in Prescott.

Born in Osceola, Florida, on September 25, 1938, Sonya grew up amongst Brahman cattle and orange trees on her family's ranch and orange grove farm on their Lake Tohopekaliga homestead. From an early age, she developed a deep love and admiration for agriculture-one that shaped her entire life. She was never happier than when she was out checking her cows, tending to the land, or riding horses across the pastures she cherished.

Sonya enjoyed a rich and active life filled with the things she loved most: cattle, horses, reading, swimming, spending time near the water, being outdoors, and traveling the country with her closest friends.

A lifelong believer in Christ, Sonya served the Lord, her family, and her community with unwavering faith and humility.

She married Robert Leon Godwin, in 1959, and together they shared 43 years of marriage. They built a beautiful family of two children, four grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren. Nothing brought Sonya more joy than caring for her family. She treasured every moment of her life-helping with school pickups, sleepovers, attending livestock shows, cheering at sporting events, sitting proudly at dance recitals and pageants, and supporting her loved ones in everything they pursued.

Agriculture was woven into every chapter of Sonya's life, and she was a respected cattlewoman. Sonya's parents, Ward and Thelma Lorenz, were one of Osceola County's founding ranch families, and she was proud to be a fifth-generation rancher. At a young age she broke her own horse so she could pen and work cattle with alongside her family daily-a task she loved her entire life. Sonya took great pride in putting in a hard day's work next to the cowboys and cowgirls in her life. From her childhood on the Florida ranch to later managing her own cattle and horses as an adult, she played an essential role in the growth and success of her family's operations. Her passion, work ethic, knowledge, and quiet leadership helped shape the ranching legacy she leaves behind.

Sonya and Robert moved to Prescott, Arkansas, in 1964, where they quickly established deep roots in the community. Together they expanded Godwin Ranch from a commercial cow-calf operation to also include a feed store, fertilizer business, and cattle trucking business serving Southwest Arkansas. Sonya served important roles within every aspect of her family businesses, but she was especially capable in the areas accounting and finance, record keeping, and business administration. She also enjoyed working alongside her late sister-in-law, Katherine "Kakie" Koger, to prepare daily meals for the ranch's cowboys and run the family businesses.

Sonya graduated from Saint Cloud High School in 1953, an accomplishment she held with pride. In the years that followed Sonya's high school graduation, she worked as a secretary for a local insurance company and then Osceola County 4-H.

Sonya always looked to God in good times and bad, and truly cherished God's simplest blessings. Her idea of a perfect day was a day filled with life's little pleasures that we sometimes take for granted. A perfect day for Sonya would start with waking up to a clear, beautiful sky on a warm summer day with a cool breeze making the grass sway outside her windows. Then she would plant flowers, check cows, read a John Grisham mystery novel, swim, and end the day with a big dinner surrounded by all her family and friends to sit and enjoy each other's company. We know she is now enjoying perfect days in heaven for eternity.

Sonya Temperance Lorenz Godwin will be remembered for her kindness, her devotion to family, her steadfast faith, and her lifelong love of agriculture. Her legacy will continue to live on in the family she adored, and on the ranch, she helped cultivate with her own hands.

The family would like to thank the caring staff at The Springs of Hillcrest, Gentiva Hospice, Southern Caregivers, Dr. Michael Young, and Dana Hawthorne for all your compassion, support, and dedication to Sonya.

Visitation will be held at 1:00pm Thursday, December 11, 2025, at the Herndon-Fuqua Funeral Home of Prescott Chapel. Funeral services will begin at 2:00pm with Bro. Neal Ridling officiating. Interment will follow at Bluff City Cemetery in Bluff City, AR, under the direction of Herndon-Fuqua Funeral Home of Prescott.

We also invite you to express your public condolences at www.herndonfuquafuneralhomes.com or private Letters of Love at www.herndonfuquafuneralhomes.com/page/letters-of-love;

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