MARY JANE MCENTIRE

 Mary Jane McEntire, age 82 of Marshall, Arkansas, passed from this life on Thursday, September 11th, 2025, at North Arkansas Regional Medical Center in Harrison, Arkansas. She was born in Willow Springs, Missouri, on June 20, 1943, to Crockett Dale Beavers and Gertrude Ward Beavers.
 Janie attended the First Christian Church as long as her health allowed. She developed dementia and spent her final years in memory care. Unlike her memory, her loving personality, good humor, ever-present smile, and sparkling eyes never left her. Janie had a kind and giving soul.
 Janie was a graduate of the Marshall High School Class of 1961 and enjoyed keeping in touch with classmates as well as attending the annual MHS Alumni Banquet. She forged lifelong friendships while attending Marshall Schools and always enjoyed organizing and attending her class reunions.
 Janie began working for the Soil Conservation Service in 1976 (later renamed the Natural Resource Conservation Service) and held the position of district secretary until she retired after 35 years. Having grown up on a farm family, she enjoyed working with local farmers throughout the district. She was a founding member of the E.H. ’81 Extension Club. She treasured the friendships that developed from working with a great group of ladies to foster leadership within communities through various means, including volunteering and organizing events and projects to benefit their communities.
 Janie enjoyed baking and sewing immensely. She was always ready to whip up a chocolate pie at a moment’s notice. According to her grandson Will, her brown beans and ham were legendary, with or without the cornbread. Will would say that “nobody makes brown beans like Granny.” Her love of sewing was initially born of need, but she gladly passed her knowledge to her daughter at an early age. While she would sew, she would keep a three-year-old Amy busy with a scrap of fabric, a large button, and a blunt needleand then stop to untangle the mess (quite often.)
 Janie had a tireless work ethic, instilling in her children the importance of hard work, a clean house, a nice yard, and pulling weeds (even if Madison wouldn’t eat the garden vegetables). In the summertime, it was common for Madison and Amy to wake up to a lengthy list of chores that had to be completed before any summer fun could be had.  
 Janie and the kids spent summer days at Papa Dale’s farm, helping maintain their large garden. They would shuck corn, shell peas, snap green beans, and the least favorite of Amy’s: picking up potatoes. Their nickname for her was “Sarge.”
 Janie and Bill attended all their children’s school events, whether it was basketball games to watch Madison play, or football games to watch Amy march in the band. Beta Club and FFA events, band concerts, they never missed a one. Janie loved to play games and put together jigsaw puzzles. Dominoes and Scrabble were favorites of hers and Madison, but she also enjoyed many card games. It was the laughter and togetherness around the table that she cherished. She had a very sharp mind and could work Sudoku puzzles in no time at all. Holidays were always treasured in later years, when everyone was together and the dominoes didn’t remain in the box for very long.
 Janie enjoyed traveling very much. Family trips to Branson, St. Louis, Kansas City, and Houston were common, and if there was a major league baseball stadium nearby, the family was in attendance at a game. She, like the rest of the family, loved baseball. Later, extended trips to Europe and Hawaii were among her favorites. She enjoyed history, so many family trips when the children were young were spent as learning adventures. Visits to Lincoln’s home in Springfield, Illinois, George Washington Carver’s birthplace, Harry Truman’s birthplace, and the Vicksburg battlefield were some of the sites the family enjoyed. There was even a trip to Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, and Fredericksburg, Maryland, in later years. Understanding where and how our country evolved was of interest to her. She enjoyed bus trips with friends to numerous locations. One family anecdote that cannot be omitted is how she left Bill in the hospital to battle kidney stones on his own, as she had a plane to catch to Hawaii, and he wasn’t on the itinerary.
 Another event of note is that Janie got her first grandchild (Mackenzie) and indoor puppy (Domino) in the same year. She was beyond thrilled with both. Becoming a grandmother caused her to have an ever-present radiant smile, and soon, Domino was running the house, and she happily let him. Domino was her faithful companion for over 15 years. The arrival of grandson Will a few years later only made that smile brighter. She deeply loved her grandchildren and often would indulge them, as was her job as a grandparent.
 Janie is survived by her husband of 60 years, Bill McEntire of Marshall; son Madison McEntire and his wife Crissy, of Bryant; daughter Amy McEntire and her husband Michael Harris, of Marshall; granddaughter Mackenzie Shelton and her husband Dakota, of Benton (Cash & Cayden); grandson Will McEntire and his fiancé Caitlyn Wyrick of Rogers; sister Donna Kay McGee and husband Jerry of Cypress, Texas; nephew Ward McGee of Cypress; niece Martha McGee and husband Kevin Eyre of Cypress; great niece Jessica Massey of Mountain Home; great niece Abbie McGee, and great nephews Clay Snyder and Charlie Eyre, all of Cypress, Texas.
 Janie is preceded in death by her parents, Dale and Gertrude Beavers, and sister, Sue Wilburn.
 Funeral services for Janie will be 11:00 AM Monday, September 15th, 2025, at Roller-Coffman Chapel in Marshall, Arkansas, with Bro. Roy Ragland and Crissy McEntire officiating. Visitation will be from 10:00 to 11:00 AM preceding the service. Burial will be in Marshall Memorial Gardens.  
 Bearers will be Brent Clark, Ricky Reed, Corey Jones, John Steen, Rick Horton, and Sid Lowrance. Honorary bearers will be Dakota Shelton and Will McEntire.