Wanda Faye Venable

On Sunday, November 27, Wanda Faye Davis Venable, of Jacksonville, beloved mother, grandmother and great grandmother, left this earthly home to enter the majesty of heaven.  She was born October 15, 1934, at home, in St. Charles, Arkansas.  Wanda was a graduate of Jacksonville, High School.  She was a homemaker until her children graduated high school.  She then worked for North Little Rock Electric in 1973 and retired from First Electric in Jacksonville in 1996. 

She is preceded in death by her father, Charles Price Davis, her mother, Emma Lucy Martin Davis, and brother, Charles Price Davis Jr.

She is survived by two sisters, Geneva Huddle “Sister” of Bryant, AR and Ida Jo Creed of Jacksonville, AR.

She is survived by her daughter, Susan Gail Jeffers (David), her son, James M. Venable III, daughter, Rebecca Faye Tyler (Toby).  She has 3 grandchildren, Aundra Leigh Boeckman (Mitch), Amanda Eric Browning (Ryan) and David Nathan Jeffers (Jessica).  She has five great-grandchildren, Emma Browning, Lily Browning, Blaise “B” Boeckman, Ally Jeffers and Jae Jeffers.

She has many nieces and nephews that she loved dearly.

She was Miss Jacksonville in 1952 and rode in a parade in Little Rock as a representative of Jacksonville.  She was a cheerleader during high school.

She was a true athlete.  She was voted Most Athletic her junior and senior years of high school.  She played softball, All Stars, In Jacksonville, and her dad was one of the coaches.  She also played softball as an adult for a women’s team at Zion Hill.  She also loved to bowl.  She bowled in leagues at Pike Lanes and Sherwood Bowling Alley.  She bowled multiple 500 and 600 series at both establishments.

She loved to “piddle” with her plants outside and fill multiple hummingbird and regular bird feeders in her yard.  She loved watching old movies and TV shows.

She was a great seamstress and made most of her children’s clothes prior to entering the workforce.

Wanda’s biggest love, besides her kids, grandkids and great-grandkids, was to crochet.  She was taught by the lady (Mrs. Taylor) that rented the apartment she lived in while she and her husband were stationed in Texas with the Air Force in 1952.  She gave away more baby blankets and crocheted afghans than you could possibly count.  She carried multiple colors of baby blankets in her car and if she saw a pregnant woman, she would ask what she was having and would immediately give her a blanket.  If she didn’t know what she was having, she would give them a color for both boy and girl.  She has donated multiple boxes of baby blankets to Children’s Hospital, Baptist Hospital and Options Pregnancy in Cabot and North Little Rock.  When asked is she would take money for the blankets, her reply was, “I was given the gift of learning to crochet by a sweet lady in Texas and this is how I pass the gift along”.

The gifts that she gave others of a big smile, her humor, knowledge, and love that she shared with others will be truly missed. 

Our family would like to thank Danielle, our Baptist Hospice nurse, for her tender care, love, and humor she gave to our mom during her months in Hospice. 

Memorial donations can be made to, The Gideons International, Baptist Hospice and First Baptist Church Cabot Youth Building.

Visitation will be at 1:00 PM, Monday, December 5, 2022 at Smith-North Little Rock Funeral Home, 1921 Main St., North Little Rock, AR 72114, with a memorial service following at 2:00 PM.