Norma Jean Gibbons

Norma Jean Gibbons, passed away on Monday, May 2, 2022. Born May 5, 1932, in Hensley, Ark., to the late James Herbert Jones and Trula Burton Jones. She was preceded in death by her husband, William M. Gibbons, four sisters and one brother. Jean is survived by her three daughters, Linda Lonsdale of Fayetteville, Ark., Lauren Spitz and spouse Randy of Penryn, Calif., Liz Faraday and spouse Steve of Meridian, Idaho, and grandsons, Shawn Mehrens and Jason Mehrens and fiancé Jessica Watts. Jean was an early advocate for women's rights and equal pay. She loved to sing and play piano, was an avid reader, accomplished painter, photographer, gardener, and decorator but the real joys of her life were her grandsons. Highlights of her professional life included work with researchers Masters and Johnson in St. Louis, Missouri, Mitsui & Co., a Houston-based import company, and in executive sales with Rock Island Railroad in Chicago, Illinois, where she met and married Bill Gibbons. Following retirement, Jean and Bill settled in California to be closer to their children. She returned to Arkansas in 2016. She will be greatly missed and remembered always with love and affection. "In the end, she became more that she expected. She became the journey, and like all journeys, she did not end. She simply changed direction and kept going." R.M. Drake A memorial service will be at 2 p.m., Monday, May 9, at St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Fayetteville. Memorials in memory of Jean Gibbons may be directed to Circle of Life Hospice in Springdale, 901 Jones Road, Springdale, Ark., 72762. https://nwacircleoflife.com/donatesupport/. Cremation arrangements are by Nelson Berna Funeral Home. To place an online tribute, please visit: www.bernafuneralhomes.com