Glenda B Rice was called home on Thursday, June 18, 2015

Glenda B Rice was called home on Thursday, June 18, 2015. She has accepted a full time position tending the flower beds just inside Heaven’s Pearly Gates.

Born in Center Point, Arkansas on June 25, 1947 the daughter of Glen O’ Neal Billings and Elva B Mitchell (both deceased), Glenda was no stranger to hard work. Whether it was picking peaches or planting perennials, Glenda loved the feeling of the sun on her skin and the dirt in her hands. She was a woman of uncommon courage, commitment, and faith.

Glenda was a rural letter carrier for the US Postal Service for 25 years and regularly enjoyed visiting with those on her route – whom she considered her extended family. She was easily recognized on her route by the many “JUST SMILE!” stickers covering the bumper of her car. Glenda was an active member of the Nashville community; she contributed time, money, and a million smiles to Howard County Farmers Market, the Red Dirt Master Gardeners Club, and several local churches.

Glenda loved to laugh.   The movie “The Bucket List” took on a special meaning after her initial diagnosis of brain cancer. She was the most joyful of cancer patients. She fought the illness each day with courage from a foundation of faith and her steadfast canine companion, Newbie. She travelled with friends and family and continued tending her garden. Remarkably, after a lifetime of uneasiness around the water, she even learned how to swim! She did it all with a smile on her face and joy in her heart.

Glenda is survived by her beloved husband of forty-eight years, Perry Earl Rice, and by her three daughters Terry Lynn (Rice) Broach, Ginger Gayle (Rice) Blue, and Robyn Dana (Rice) Miller. She also leaves behind two dear brothers, Jim and Bud Billings, her step mother Mary Jo Dildy Billings, and eight grandchildren – Tyler, Ace, Bailey, Keeley, Reagan, Kennedy, Madi, and Remington – whom she spoiled often. Devonda Furr and Bryan Billings are Glenda’s much loved niece and nephew. She was preceded in death by her brother Douglas Devon Billings.

Memorial donations may be made to the Howard County Farmers’ Market, 107 South Main Street, Nashville, Arkansas 71852 or to Howard County Foster Parent Association,2079 Hwy 371 West, Nashville, Arkansas 71852.

Services will be Sunday, June 21, 2015 at 2 pm. at Cross Point Cowboy Church, highway 371 west of Nashville with Jimmy Dale, and Don Jones officiating. Interment will follow in Corinth Cemetery under the direction of Nashville Funeral Home. The family will receive friends at the funeral home on Saturday afternoon from 3 to 5 pm. You may send the family an online sympathy message to www.nashvillefh.com