Claire P. Nix

Claire Parker Nix of Jonesboro passed away Tuesday, June 2nd at the age of 67. The daughter of Judge Olan and Anita Parker, she spent most of her life in her beloved hometown. She graduated from Jonesboro High School, and received a bachelor’s degree from Vanderbilt University and a master’s degree from Arkansas State University.

She spent twenty-eight years with the Jonesboro Public School System as an educator, a social worker and an administrator at the Jonesboro Alternative School. She was a dedicated, lifelong member of St. Mark’s Episcopal Church. She gave great time and effort to her church, along with several other community humanitarian programs such as CASA and the Helping Neighbors Food Pantry.

She loved to learn, to create, and to explore. She carried countless passions and interests throughout her life – her home, her gardens, her art. She was an amateur archeologist, a prolific painter, and an aspiring carpenter. Her book collection is enviable, her talents diverse, her faith unyielding.

She rarely met a stranger, on two legs or four, and she truly, genuinely treasured her friendships, many of which spanned several decades. She loved old houses, convertibles, singer-songwriters, flowers, cracking pecans, antiques, raw oysters, cannon shoots, fried chicken livers, books, TV mysteries, mints during sermons, and dogs. Most of all, she loved powerful children – especially her own.
She carved her own pathways. She lived her life. She cared, fiercely, but rarely compromised and always stood behind what she believed.

She leaves behind a loved and loving family, cherished friends, and a legacy of service. She is survived by her daughter and her son, her sunshine and her rock; by her beloved stepdaughters; her doting brother, his wife and family; by three dear first cousins and their partners and progeny; by many further cousins and kin from the Latourette and Cowles families; by Earline; and by every other person she taught, touched or otherwise benefitted in her lifetime. She was an example to all of us, and we are all greater because of her.

There will be a visitation at Emerson Funeral Home on Friday, June 5th from 5pm-7pm, and a memorial service at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church on Saturday, June 6th at 2pm. In lieu of flowers, her family requests donations to St. Mark’s or the Helping Neighbors Food Pantry. Or, go plant a flower or pull some weeds at St. Mark’s, in Claire’s Garden. She would appreciate it.