Betty Jo Craig

Betty Jo Craig was born on January 13, 1940, in Dallas County, Arkansas to the union of Ment and Idonia Pace Craig. She accepted Christ as her personal Lord and Savior and was a life-long member of Harmony Missionary Baptist Church. She worked for several years at Sparkman High School until she retired.

Betty Jo was a part of that generation that counted motherhood as a virtue because mothers knew the difference between a house and home. So, her golden accomplishment in life was to make a loving home that would produce a tapestry of memories her family would forever cherish. She was that warm hand on a cold morning; that voice of wisdom and reason when the world was upside-down; that vessel of hope that carried loved ones and friends safely across rivers of change in their lives.

To celebrate the Craig and Lock Family Reunion traditions and heritage, Betty Joe served faithfully as the treasurer. She also served as the president of the Harmony Community Cemetery. She was known throughout the community as a friendly and Godly woman who would help anyone. For Betty Jo, being a daughter, sister, mother, grandmother, homemaker, friend, aunt, matriarch, mentor, neighbor, confidante and servant were all honorable callings. She took great pride in the Craigtown community and was rightfully known as the “Mayor of Craigtown”.

She was the perfect road runner; and if a vehicle was moving, she wanted to be in it. She was a great travel companion who never forgot how to get from one place to another. She enjoyed the blues and her favorite song was “I Know a Place”.

Family, as well as friends, will miss her strength, smile, and love, but will never forget her spirit and compassion. She passed into the Lord’s embrace Tuesday, December 28, 2021, at her home in Malvern. She was preceded in death by her parents, Ment Craig (June 9, 1994), Idonia Craig (November 4, 2009); two sisters, Louise Felt and Mildred Thomas and two brothers, Lawrence Craig and Isiah “Zack” Craig, Sr, (January 28, 2017); her son, Willie “Sugar Boy” Craig (November 23, 2020) and two grandsons, Travis Craig and Willie Craig, Jr.

She leaves to cherish her memory three children, Terry Gregory (Zella) of Camden, AR, Bobbie White (Larry) and Michelle Craig both of Malvern, AR; her bonus children, Scott Dunn, Kelly Dunn Smith, and Mark Dunn; eleven grandchildren and seventeen great-grandchildren; one sister Rose (John) Hope of San Antonio, TX; sisters-in-law, Minnie Pearl Craig of Carthage, AR and Pearl Craig of Rockford, IL; two special nieces, Jeanne Butler and Kelly Craig; a special great-nephew, Jae-Kur Lockhart, as well as, a host of nieces, nephews, cousins, and numerous friends.

Public visitation will be from noon until 4:00 p.m. at Williams Funeral Home with a family hour from 6:00 p.m. until 7:00 p.m. at S.L. Vance and Sons Funeral Home, 413 W Page Ave, Malvern, AR. Homegoing Services will be held at 1:00 p.m. on Sunday, January 2, 2022, at Harmony Baptist Church in Sparkman, Arkansas with Rev. Harvey Goodwin, the eulogist. Interment will be at Harmony Community Cemetery.

Honorary Pallbearers will be Joseph Hall, Jimmie Henderson, Claude Dickerson, Elijah Gipson, Bill Penix, L.H. Johnson, Joe Willie Henderson, Curley Henderson, Jeff Dunn, and William K. Sorrells. Active Pallbearers will be Geoffrey Hall, Roger Perry, Anthony Scott, Corrie Craig, Donta Thrower, Jonathan King, and Lucious Paden.