Maurine Joy “Dyer” Trantham

Monday, May 13, 2019

Maurine Joy “Dyer” Trantham, 83, of Crossett, passed away Thursday, May 9, 2019, at the Ashley County Medical Center. She was born in Murray, Ky., on August 24, 1935, to her parents, Thomas and Bula Scott Dyer. She was a member of the First Baptist Church of Crossett, Mrs. Knighton’s Sunday School Class, and the Women on Mission Ladies Group. Joy’s passion and calling in life was working with children. She taught private kindergarten for many years at Calvary Baptist Church in Blytheville and in 1975, she opened a preschool in Crossett where she worked until she retired in 1987 to care for her aging parents and in-laws. She was a fine Christian lady who prayed for people for hours on end, would witness anytime she had the opportunity and made it a priority to instill the same Christian values in her daughters. She enjoyed volunteering at the local nursing homes, attending her exercise classes and was an avid reader. “Joy”, what better name for a woman who had such a fun personality, a lovely sense of humor and was such a joy to be around. Anyone who crossed her path loved her immediately due to her kind and loving nature.

Along with her parents, Joy was preceded in death by her husband of 64 years, Jessie W. Trantham; one infant son, Jessie Mark Trantham; two brothers, James King and Herbert Dyer; and two great-grandchildren, Joseph and Catherine Joy Mangan.

She is survived by four daughters, Sherry Bowman of Sherwood, Kim Rhodes of Meridian, Miss., Angela Bost and husband, Steve, of Poplar Bluff, Mo., and Carla Edney and husband, Jim, of Crossett; three brothers, Tom Dyer and wife, Joyce, of Millington, Tenn., Jim Dyer and wife, Alex, of Russellville, and Nick Dyer and wife, Mary, of Conroe, Texas, along with nine grandchildren; three great-grandchildren; and one special friend, Pearl Grisham of Oregon.

A Celebration of Life will be held at 2 p.m., Tuesday, May 14, at Medders Funeral Home Chapel, 1562 Hwy. 52W in Crossett with Bro. Jamie Staley officiating with interment at Pinewood Memorial Park when weather permits. Visitation will be from 6-8 p.m. Monday, May 13, at Medders Funeral Home.