June E. Merrell

June E. Merrell was born Deloria June Edmondson on June 12, 1932, in Memphis, Tennessee. She passed away peacefully on March 16, 2018, at Methodist Germantown Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee, with family by her side. She is survived by her daughter, Sherri Merrell; son, Kem Merrell, and his wife Kim Merrell, their daughters Grace-Anne and Lily Belle; brother, Don Edmondson and his wife, Ellen Edmondson, all of Forrest City, Arkansas; grandchildren Erica Lamb Rains and her daughter Bethany, Joshua Spotts and his wife Caley, their children Sophia, Hazel, and Miller; Merrell Conlee and her husband Cody, their children Reagan and Owen; and many nieces and nephews. She was predeceased by her husband, Virgil Calvin Merrell, on March 15,1986, her daughter, Melinda Kathryn Merrell Spotts, in 2010, and her parents, Walter Carl Edmondson and Hazel Cureton Edmondson. Junie, as she was affectionately called, grew up at Blackfish Lake, Arkansas, where her parents had a restaurant and motel, Carl's Courts. She was raised as a Methodist, and her parents helped build the Methodist Church at Blackfish Lake. She was a member of First Baptist Church of Forrest City, and also attended First United Methodist Church, so she had two church families. Her family moved to Forrest City in 1945, where June attended Forrest City High School and met her future husband, Virgil. She and Virgil married in 1950 and both attended Bob Jones University, where they were active with the Billy Graham ministries. She later became a supporter of the Billy Graham Training Center of The Cove in Asheville, North Carolina, helping fund the completion of The Cove Chapel. She was a member of Delta Beta Sigma sorority and yearbook staff in high school, a lifetime member of Musical Coterie, active in Junior Auxiliary, American Cancer Society, and numerous other civic and church groups. She loved music, and played the piano and sang for many years, even when in the nursing home during the last year of her life. Travel, trout fishing, her Yorkie Louie, reading, and the Arkansas Razorbacks were some of her great passions. But her favorite thing was to spend time with her family, preparing huge family meals at her beloved Forrest City home, Tan-Ta-Lon. We all have great memories of the wonderful hours spent gathered there eating, visiting, and laughing. June was a beautiful, unique and quirky woman with a lot of love to give, and her family and friends were all blessed to have her in their lives. Funeral services will be held Tuesday, March 20, 2018 at Stevens Funeral Home Chapel at 2:00 p.m. with visitation before hand at 1:00 p.m. burial will follow at Forrest Park Cemetery. Visit online registry at stevensfuneralhome.net. Any memorials should be made to the organization of charity of you choice.