James "Jim" Eugene Huffman

James "Jim" Eugene Huffman, 71, entered eternity on Friday, October 14, 2022, surrounded by his wife of 47 years, Jean Huffman, and his two daughters, Jene Huffman-Gilreath and Jenise Huffman. Jim was born on April 10, 1951, in Kansas City, Mo., to Elwyn and Buena (nee Swearengin) Huffman. Jim brought his family to northwest Arkansas in March of 1987. He often said it was the best move of his life. He loved the Ozarks, its food, and, more importantly, its people. Jim loved God, people, his church, community, eating with friends and family, music of any genre as long as it was in tune, books of any non-fiction subject, learning about anything, traveling, his dogs, and most especially his family. He was a fiercely loyal and loving family man. Nothing brought more joy than spending time with his wife, daughters, son-in-law and granddaughters. He founded and pastored Christ's Church of Northwest Arkansas in Fayetteville for 33 years. The motto of the church was, "You come once, you are a visitor. You come twice, you belong." He meant it, and the church congregation is counted among his family. Jim started the chaplaincy program for Springdale Memorial and was on staff for many years with the hospital. He was a long-time member of The Fayetteville Downtown Rotary Club, past president and assistant district governor, Paul Harris Fellow many times over, long-time member and former board member of the Fayetteville Chamber of Commerce, former member of the Institutional Review Board for WRMC, and too many community involvements to count. He is preceded in death by his father, Elwyn Huffman. His survivors include his wife, Jean (Hampton) Huffman; daughters, Jene Huffman-Gilreath and Jenise Huffman; son-in-law, Chris Gilreath; granddaughters, Aubre Gilreath, Halle Gilreath Sehorn, and Zoe Gilreath; mother, Buena Huffman; sister, Joyce (Huffman) Jeffries; brother, John Huffman; and numerous nieces, nephews, cousins, in-laws, and an aunt. His family included so many more church members and community members all across the globe. The celebration of his life will be on Saturday, October 29th, 2022, at 2 p.m. at Nelson Berna Funeral Home on Crossover in Fayetteville. Following the service, a meal to honor his legacy of service to the hurting, the hungry, and the homeless, will be held at the large pavilion in Walker Park in South Fayetteville at 3:30 pm. All are invited. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests memorials be made to some of his favorite organizations: New Beginnings (newbeggingsnwa.org), 7Hills Homeless Shelter (7hillscenter.org), LifeSource International (lifesourceinternational.org), Families in Transition Program (Fayetteville Public Schools), Circle of Life Hospice (nwacircleoflife.org). To sign the online guestbook please visit www.bernafuneralhomes.com