Betty Jean Eakle

Betty Jean Eakle, 83, Of Jonesboro, AR passed away on Saturday, September 29 ^th , 2018 at her home. She was born to the late Clarence & Dorothy Gillan on October 5 ^th , 1934 in East Cardonlet, Illinois. She married her sweetheart Mearl Eakle on July 21 ^st , 1949. She loved to cook and spend time with her family. Family was everything to her. She loved to dance and sing. You could often find her humming a tune or singing one of her favorite songs from Hank Williams, Elvis or Patsy Cline. Every weekend she would spend time going to yard sales and flea markets. She also loved playing Bingo. You would often catch her on the couch watching her beloved St. Louis Cardinals. She was one of St. Louis Cardinals biggest fans. She also loved to spend time outside in the garden or attending to her rose bushes. She always took time to listen and share stories and memories with her grandchildren who she loved very dearly.

In addition to her parents, Betty was preceded in death by her Husband, Mearl Eakle, her Brother Bob Gillan, and her Son in Law Randy Rasler.

Betty is survived by her 7 children: Denny (Jan) Eakle of Kingston, Oklahoma; Debi (Leroy) Kleiner of Greenville, Illinois; Robert (Leana) Eakle of Jonesboro, Arkansas; Butch (Pam) Eakle of Pana, Illinois; Pamela Rasler of Greenville, Illinois; Kenny Eakle of Jonesboro, Arkansas; Beverly Rasler of Jonesboro, Arkansas. Brother Buddy (Neva) Gillan of Columbia, Illinois; sister Carol (Felix) Gutierrez of Prescott, Arizona; Barbara (Donald) Weber of Columbia, Illinois.

Grandchildren: Matt, Emily, Cody, Kaysi, Jaime, Brad, Brittney, Brooke, Brandy, Angela, Meagan, Jeffrey, Tiffany.

Great Grandchildren: Ava, Olivia, Sophia, Annie, Franklin, Kyle, Austin, Lillian, Owen, Lucas, Carter, Bentlee, Alan, Carigan, Triston, Jacob, Dayton, Sophia, Skylee, Serenity, Makhai, Kruz, Talulla.

Great Great Grand Children: Harper, Tyler.

She is also survived by many nieces, nephews, cousins, and numerous friends.

A visitation will be from 10:00 – 11:00 am Friday, October 5, 2018 at Braun Funeral Home in Columbia, Illinois.

A funeral service will be at 11:00 a.m. Friday, October 5, 2018 at Braun Funeral Home in Columbia, Illinois. Burial will follow at 12:45 p.m. at Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery in St. Louis , Missouri with active pallbearers being: Pallbearers: Robert Eakle, Brad Eakle, Kenny Eakle, Butch Eakle, Chad King, Felix Gutierrez, Mark Clark, and Cody Eakle.

Online Registry: www.emersonfuneralhome.com