Emma Jewell Randle, of Jonesboro, known as “Nana” and “Grandmother” to the grandchildren who adored her, passed away peacefully of natural causes on October 27, 2026, at the age of 94, with her loving family by her side. She leaves behind a family who cherished her and a lifetime of faith and devotion that will continue to guide them.

Emma was born on January 5, 1932, in Pocahontas, Arkansas, to Jewell Forrester and Jessie Lemmons Forrester. She carried her father’s name with her all her life as her own middle name, Jewell.

On October 7, 1950, Emma married Charles William Randle, and for 65 years she shared her life with her beloved husband and partner. Early in their marriage, the young couple made their home in Pocahontas and Blytheville, Arkansas, and in Memphis, Tennessee, where their first son, Lawrence Randle, was born on November 10, 1951. The family then moved to Ponca City, Oklahoma, where both Emma and Charles went to work at the Conoco refinery, and where their second son, Thomas Wayne Randle, was born on May 23, 1959.

Emma served as an executive secretary at Conoco, and Ponca City remained the family’s home for the rest of their working years, until Emma and Charles retired in the mid-1980s. Years later, Tom would begin his own career with Conoco, following in the footsteps of the parents who had built their lives there.

Retirement brought Emma and Charles to The Woodlands, Texas, where they poured their time into serving others, volunteering to print Bibles for their Church of Christ’s outreach mission in Romania. In the late 1990s, they settled in Jonesboro, Arkansas, which they called home for the rest of their lives. There they were active and devoted members of the Valley View Church of Christ.

Emma loved her family dearly and wholeheartedly supported every one of their endeavors. When her grandson, Michael, was in elementary school, she and Charles moved to Chicago to live with Michael and his father, Tom, for a few years. As Michael grew older, she and “Poppa” traveled all over Texas to follow him through his junior golf tournaments, long before the game would carry him to a Division I scholarship. Those trips remain some of his most special memories. To her grandchildren, Emma was a caring and motherly presence all through their teenage years, someone they could always count on.

Emma was an excellent cook, and her family will never forget her infamous “Mazetti” casserole. Nor would any morning be complete without her beloved chocolate coffee creamer.

Above all, Emma loved and revered her Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. She spent her entire life worshipping Him and faithfully attended church until she was no longer physically able. Emma bore more loss than any mother should, outliving both of her sons, Larry and, just this past July, Tom. Her family takes deep comfort in knowing that she is now reunited with her husband and both of her sons, walking with her Savior in Heaven.

Emma was preceded in death by her parents, Jewell Forrester and Jessie Lemmons Forrester; her husband of 65 years, Charles William Randle, who passed away on August 13, 2016; and her sons, Lawrence Randle and Thomas Wayne Randle.

Emma is lovingly survived by her grandson, Michael Randle, and his wife, Ellecia Randle, along with their children, Hudson and Blair Randle; and her granddaughter, Callie Randle, and Callie’s husband, Joseph Perkins, along with Callie’s son, Cameron Smith.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made in Emma’s name to Children’s Homes, Inc., 5515 Walcott Road, Paragould, AR 72450, a cause she was deeply passionate about supporting.

Reunited with those she loved, and walking with the Lord.