Emma Geraldine Davenport

Emma Geraldine Davenport, 86, of St. Augustine, Fla., passed from this life Monday, March 25, 2024, at Moultrie Creek Nursing and Rehab Center in St. Augustine. Born in Blytheville, she was the daughter of the late John R and Bertha Sexton Harper. She was raised in Kennett, Mo., and was a 1955 graduate of Kennett High School. Emma loved antique shopping and Elvis Presley. She loved music and had always dreamed of becoming a music teacher. As a teenager she played the piano at her parents’ movie theater in Kennett. She had a wicked sense of humor and could make any conversation into a familiar song. Emma had a very generous heart and was loved by everyone she ever met. In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by her husband, Bernis Ray Hammons, and two brothers, Billy Harper and John R. Harper Jr. (Sonny).

Survivors include two daughters, Cyndi Burrage of Sarasota, Fla., and Leslie Austin (Jerry Saunders) of St. Augustine, Florida; one sister, Joyce Ann Hutchison of Paragould; three grandchildren, Lauren Beach of Fairport, N.Y., Megan Buhr (Dillon) of Orange Park, Fla., and Matthew Austin, USAF Guam; two great-grandchildren, Oliver Beach and Ezra Yeaw, both of Fairport, N.Y.

Graveside service will be 2 p.m. Thursday, March 28, at the Leachville Cemetery with Reverend Mark Wheeler officiating. The family will receive visitors Thursday from 1 p.m. until service time at the Howard Funeral Service Chapel in Leachville. Friends may sign the online guest register at www.HowardFuneralService.com.