Joan Coleman

Joan Smith Coleman, 89, passed away peacefully Monday, December 13, 2021 at Apple Creek Nursing Home in Centerton, Arkansas.  She was born August 4, 1932 in Compere, Texas to George Alfred Smith and Mary Violet Marshall Smith.

Joan was a native Texan and even though she moved around a lot as a minister’s wife, her heart never left the state.  She was the mother of five, grandmother of thirteen, and great grandmother of fifteen.  Joan was passionate about education.  She had a bachelor’s degree in English and a Master of Science degree in Marriage and Family Counseling.  She instilled in her children a curiosity to learn and the confidence to try whatever they set their hand to do.  She loved to write children’s stories to try to instill in them a curiosity to learn.  She also started a Montessori school in one of the churches she attended because she was passionate about helping children learn at their own pace.

Joan loved music.  She filled her home with music of all genres and encouraged her children to appreciate music as much as she did.  She loved to sing.  She sang with the Harding College Girl’s Glee Club, the Hillcrest Singers, and the Sweet Adeline’s of Northwest Arkansas.  Being one of five sisters who all loved to sing, whenever they were together music filled the air.

Joan cared for those who needed help.  As a social worker she helped struggling families get their lives back on track.  As a marriage and family counselor she helped troubled relationships find healthier ways of dealing with their issues.  As an advocate for the unborn she helped mothers who wanted to put their child up for adoption find families wanting to care for the child.

While she remained a Texan at heart, wherever Joan lived she always had an open home.  Whether it was welcoming her kids’ friends in, someone from the church or a person in need, Joan was the consummate hostess and her home was always filled with warmth, love, and lots of loud kids.

Joan’s life reflected a deep and abiding faith in God.  She was a student of God’s Word and, in her own words, “God’s Word was more important that food.”  Because of that she spent her life trying to share it with others.  Whether it was through her teaching, her writings or one-on-one contact with someone, Joan’s willingness to share her faith impacted others lives.

She was preceded in death by her parents; her husbands, Franklin Alfred Lee and Norris Keith Coleman; her brother, Jay Smith; and her sisters, Elsie Bell Ervin, Nancy Burdine, and Menda Sanders.

Joan is survived by her younger sister, Jeanene Irvin of Canton, TX;  five children, Lorrin Lee and his wife, Carole of Pagosa Springs, CO, David Lee and his wife, Deborah of Gilbert AZ, Elise Kirkpatrick and her husband, Larry of Rogers, AR, Dierdre Austin of Rogers, AR, and Sharri Scull of Woodland Hills, CA; thirteen grandchildren, Nicholas Lee and his wife, Lindsey, Todd Lee, Ian Lee and his wife, Nerissa, Daniel Lee and his wife, Erin, Kreston Lee and his wife, Madi, Taleen Lee, Aaron Kirkpatrick and his wife, Lauren, Leah Ecker and her husband, Jeff, Taylor Austin and his wife, Katelin, William Austin and his wife, Lindsay, Avery Austin, Garrett Scull, and Karissa Scull;  fifteen great-grand children,  Brooklyn Lee, Nolan Lee, Zara Lee, Alexander Lee, Jamie Lee, Kai Kirkpatrick, Ashlyn Kirkpatrick, Abel Kirkpatrick, Roman Kirkpatrick, Judah Ecker, Quincy Ecker, Carwyn Ecker, Tucker Austin, Oakley Austin, and Benaiah Austin.

The funeral service will be at 10:30 am, Tuesday, December 21 in the Hillcrest Church of Christ Chapel in Abilene, with visitation starting prior to the service at 9:30 am. Burial will follow at Albany Cemetery, Albany, Texas.  Local arrangements are under the direction of Piersall Funeral Directors, 733 Butternut Street.