Peggy Ann Hunt James of Greers Ferry, Arkansas, left for her eternal home in Heaven on February 1st of 2022 at the age of 77 years old. She was born the third child to Wilburn and Ilene Hunt. She began the first grade at what was affectionately referred to as Corn Cobb at the age of 4 years old and only then because she incessantly begged to stay at school with her brother and sister until the principal finally stopped sending her home across the pasture. She graduated from West Side High School and later married her one and only true love, Fred James. They were married for 44 wonderful and joy filled years before the Lord took him to his eternal home. After just 12 short years of marriage, they surprisingly found out they were expecting their first and only child, Stacy Ann. Peggy was a lifelong member of Lone Star Baptist Church. She was the pianist there for so many years. She began playing there as a very young lady and continued until her later years. A massive portion of those years she was accompanying her husband on piano as he led the singing at Lone Star. They also traveled to many churches across the state leading revivals and doing music for funerals near and far. They genuinely loved doing everything together. Fred & Peggy was like one word. They spent some time in Missouri working on the missile base. Later back in Cleburne County they both worked at Mullen’s in Heber Springs, and then they both began working for F.L. Davis in Greers Ferry where Fred remained working for 42 years. Peggy eventually had her own business in a building that she and her sister, Nell, shared. There you could find “Peggy’s Sew & So Shop '' and “Nell’s Beauty Shop”. Peggy sold sewing supplies and did a massive amount of sewing for the family and community. She was an amazing seamstress and known for her great skill. When the time rolled around for Stacy to begin kindergarten, Fred wanted her to become a homemaker so that she would be home when Stacy got off the bus each afternoon. Throughout those school years, many of Stacy’s friends spent a lot of nights there, and Peggy always had mouth-watering meals to eat at her table. Two sisters, Tabby and Nikki (Finch), rode the bus home with Stacy and stayed there in the afternoons for many years with lots of fun, laughter and fights amongst those girls. Peggy was locally famous for her pumpkin rolls, chocolate sheet cake and those out-of-this-world coconut pies. She was a natural born hostess and caretaker. She fed many folks in her home throughout the years. She always made certain you felt welcome and that your belly was full. Peggy spent many years cleaning the facilities at Lone Star Baptist. This was like her home away from home. Years later when her home was destroyed in the tornado of 2008, she moved in with Stacy and her family, where she lived until leaving this earth for glory.
Peggy lived a life full of devoted love. She was the most selfless person ever. She did everything with all that was in her and gave it her very best. She loved hard, she loved big, and she loved like Jesus, unconditionally. She was classy, never uppity, never prissy. To Fred and Stacy, she was perfect. They loved and cherished her everyday. She was a lady of grit, grace, and mercy. She was thoughtful, considerate, tactful, yet took no lip-service from anyone. She was an extremely hard worker, could outwork a lot of men, and then she would clean up like the classy lady that she was. She was a mother before she was a friend; she was a disciplinarian that meant what she said. She was a Nana that deeply loved her two grandsons, Colby James and Joe Paul, and her only granddaughter, Charla Anna-Hunt, more than life itself. She truly did. The only thing she loved more than them was her Savior, Jesus Christ. She was ever so ready to meet him face to face and to be reunited with Fred. She also loved to laugh, and that woman loved to eat! She loved going to Branson with Pambo, Debbie Ruth, Stacy and Charla for their annual girls’ trip.