Funeral services for J R Honea, 80, of Nacogdoches will be held at 2:00 PM, Saturday, May 19, 2018, at the First Baptist Chapel with Rev. Noel Dear and Pastor Emeritus Dr. Allen Reed officiating. Burial will follow at Sunset Memorial Park.
J R Honea died May 13 in Houston, Texas.
He was born January 26, 1938, in Caro, Nacogdoches County, Texas. He was the only child of Will Thomas Honea and Lennie Mae Williams Honea who both preceded him in death.
He attended Nacogdoches County schools but graduated from Luther Stark High School in Orange, Texas and Stephen F. Austin State University. He began his banking career in 1960 after being a distributor for the Beaumont Enterprise in Beaumont, Texas, and retired as Executive Vice President and Director of BankcorpSouth Bank in 2003. He was also a rancher and landlord. J R was raised in Grace Bible Church of Nacogdoches serving as Sunday School teacher and deacon. He later became a member of First Baptist Church of Nacogdoches. He was a faithful member of the Optimist Club holding numerous offices. He loved his church and family and enjoyed playing Bridge with his friends, traveling with the Lumberjack Sams RV club, playing "42" with the Younger-Older group at his church, and working out and eating breakfast with his cardiac rehab buddies at Memorial Hospital.
J R was married to Judith "Judy" Ann Allen Honea, his college sweetheart; and she survives him. In addition to his wife, survivors include three sons and their families: Tommy Lynn Honea of Nacogdoches; Timothy Allen Honea and his wife Suzanne White Honea of Corpus Christi, Texas; and Julius Matthew Honea and his wife Elizabeth Ann Synder Honea of Deberry, Texas. Grandchildren are Lauren Leigh Honea Arnold (John) of Corpus Christi; Jacob Martin Honea, Samuel William Honea, and Nathaniel Richard Honea of Deberry, Texas; and Jessica Paige Hall and Anna Lauren Lankart of Corpus Christi. Great-grandchildren are Gibson Lewis Arnold, Clover Claire Arnold, and Phoenix Howard Arnold of Corpus Christi; Lillian Olivia Lankart, Henry Hardy Wright, and Scarlett Paige Talley of Corpus Christi. He is also survived by brother-in-law Randal Lea Allen (Sally), sister-in-law Gaila Marie Allen, and nieces and nephews.
Visitation will be held from 6:00 PM until 8:00 PM, Thursday, May 17, 2018, at Cason Monk Metcalf Funeral Home.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the First Baptist Building Fund or the American Heart Association.
Funeral arrangements under the direction of Cason Monk-Metcalf Funeral Directors.
