Willa Eloise Jarrell

Willa Eloise (Wolverton) Jarrell, 96, of Benton, Arkansas, died on June 7, 2023, at Hospice Home Care in Little Rock, Arkansas, with her family by her side. She was born August 21, 1926, in a farm house in Bagnall, Missouri, daughter of the late Joseph Barnett and Cora Elizabeth (Kallenbach) Wolverton. She was preceded in death by her husband of 60 years, James Robert Jarrell, brothers Joseph, Donald Dean, and Dale Wolverton and her sister Gloria Wolverton Little. She is survived by her son, Robert Kim Jarrell and wife Shannon of San Antonio, Texas, daughter Starla (Jarrell) Goad and husband, Phillip, of Little Rock, Arkansas, seven grandchildren, and 17 great grandchildren; sisters Marcheta McCarthy, Donna McVay, brother Stephen Wolverton and many other family members and friends. Eloise graduated from Versailles High School (Versailles, Missouri), class of 1943. She served as a secretary at several different institutions, including the Alcoa defense plant during World War II, for the president of Ft. Worth Christian College, and at Avila College in Kansas City. She dearly loved music and sang soprano with the Kansas City Symphony Chorus. She was a poet and artist and had a special gift for growing beautiful flowers. She loved embroidering tea towels for friends and family and writing notes, cards, and letters to encourage and thank others. She was a member of the Church of Christ since age 16, including the North Side Church of Christ in Benton, Arkansas. Eloise was a minister’s wife and taught literally hundreds of children in Bible classes around the U.S. In her later years, she was a beloved resident at Mt. Carmel Community in Benton. She left a legacy of love and will be dearly missed. Her interment will be Friday, June 16 at 10:00 AM at Arkansas State Veterans Cemetery, in North Little Rock, Arkansas with a Memorial Service at 11:30 AM at Pinecrest Funeral Home, 7401 AR-5, Alexander, Arkansas.

If you would like to honor Eloise, you can send a donation to her grandson and his family, who are serving as missionaries in Spain, multiplying healthy disciples and healthy churches until there is no place without the gospel of Christ.

https://www.purecharity.com/fundraisers/jarrells/s/fa0c3ce1a974a4bf152c

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.pinecrestfh.com for the Jarrell family.