Jo Marva Rancifer

JO MARVA DAVIS RANCIFER, 74, a resident of Little Rock and formerly of Pine Bluff, departed this life on March 6, 2013. She was a beloved wife, mother, sister, aunt, cousin, teacher neighbor and friend. She was preceded in death by her son, Edward Silas Rancifer; sister, May Helen Davis; and brother, Lloyd Carl Davis. Survivors include Jesse L. Rancifer, Ph.D. (husband), Jesse L. Rancifer Jr. (son), Tracey C. Rancifer (daughter); Gabrielle C. Rancifer, Janna J. Rancifer; Arielle E. Rancifer, Dara C. Rancifer and Muriel S. Rancifer (granddaughters), Dorothy A. McKinney Wright, Th.D., Lola Davis Gordon, and Gayle Celeste Harrison (sisters) and a host of brothers-in-law, sisters-in-law, cousins, nieces, nephews along with many close friends. She was born in Dumas, Ark. to the late Reverend Silas E. and Mattie Brown Davis and the eighth of nine children born to this union. Mrs. Rancifer was baptized at Barraque Street Missionary Baptist Church in Pine Bluff and was a member of Faith Presbyterian Church in Pine Bluff and Allison Presbyterian Church in Little Rock. She attended elementary school in Pine Bluff and graduated from Merrill High School. Mrs. Rancifer was graduated from Arkansas Mechanical and Normal College (AM&N), now University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff (UAPB). She retired from a distinguished teaching career with a focus on elementary education and taught in the Wabbaseka, Pine Bluff and Pulaski County Special School Districts. She received numerous recognitions for her teaching including the State Award for Cooperating Teacher of the Year awarded by the Association of Teacher Educators. Her hobbies included writing poetry, playing piano, gardening and hosting gatherings for family and friends. She served as pianist for churches in Pine Bluff and Little Rock. Her philosophy of teaching was "To learn more than to teach, to impart not opinions, but to kindle minds and to respect the learner." In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the American Cancer Society. Celebration of Life Services will be on Tuesday, March 12, 2013, 1 p.m., at Second Presbyterian Church, 600 Pleasant Valley Drive, Little Rock, Ark. 72227. Interment will follow at Pinecrest Memorial Park, Alexander, Ark. Family hour: Monday, March 11, 2013, 6-7 p.m., at Allison Presbyterian Church, 922 Wright Avenue, Little Rock, Ark. 72206. Arrangements by: Ruffin & Jarrett Funeral Home, 1200 S. Chester St. Little Rock (501) 372-1305.