Brenda Sue (Smith) Barens, 82, a long-time resident of Avoca, Arkansas went home to be with her Savior on Wednesday morning July 19, 2023. She went to sleep and woke up in heaven having a great time with her loved ones. In her last couple of days of life she would say Hallelujah and Praise God over and over. She knew she was ready and about to go see her God and her family.
She was born on April 4th, 1941 in Clarksville, AR to Newt Jessie Smith and Virgie Othel Nuckolls Smith.
She loved camping, fishing and hunting. She spent so much time in the deer woods with the love of her life, Buford and other family members as well as going fishing and camping. She loved life and lived it to the fullest as long as she could. She was able to go fishing and camping all the way up until this year. She would get so excited when she would catch something. I can still hear her laughing and saying, Ooohhh, I got one! She loved doing these things almost as much as she loved her coffee. If you knew her well, you know that you wouldn’t find her anywhere without a cup or a thermos! Brenda was a wonderful sister, mother, aunt and grandmother. She was a very outgoing person and never met a stranger. She would talk to anyone who came close to her. She loved her family and her friends with a whole heart. She will be missed so greatly.
Brenda is preceded in death by her parents, Newt Jessie Smith and Virgie Othel (Nuckolls) Smith, her husband of 34 years, Buford C. Barens, her only grandson, John Edward Woods, Jr., sisters Lillie, Mary and Martha and brothers, McKinley, Junior, Leon, David, and Herschel.
Brenda is survived by one son, John Edward Woods, Sr. and wife Ruby, who she always called the daughter she never had, and one great granddaughter, Madison Rose Woods Echols. These three were her biggest joys in life. She has two stepdaughters, RuthAnn Cooper and Reba Mize and one stepson, Darrell Barens. She has a host of nieces and nephews.
