Juanita Boone Duncan's Obituary
Juanita Boone Duncan departed this life on February 5, 2021, at age 99. She was born June 15, 1921, in Springdale, Arkansas, the first child of James Arthur Boone and Elsie Neeley Boone. She was preceded in death by her parents, her beloved husband of 44 years, William Houston Duncan and her brother, James Vannes Boone. She is survived by her sister, Arletha Honeycutt of Dallas, her daughter, Georgena Duncan, of Fayetteville, son, Allan Duncan, his wife Michelle, and grandchildren Houston Duncan, his wife Natalie, Jennifer Duncan O’Dwyer, her husband, Ryan, and Allison Duncan, as well as five great-grandchildren, all of Dallas.
Juanita graduated from Springdale High School in 1938, and then attended College of the Ozarks, where she met her future husband, and graduated from Northeast Oklahoma State College, in Tahlequah, Oklahoma, with a degree in elementary education, in 1943. She and William Duncan married August 23, 1942, while he was serving in the Coast Guard, attached to the U.S. Navy. She taught briefly in Quapaw and Green County Elementary School in Oklahoma before joining her husband in New York City and Boston before he shipped overseas. Her daughter was born in 1944. In 1950 Juanita and William began teaching careers in Fayetteville, she at Leverett Elementary School, where she taught third grade for over 30 years, and he in Fayetteville High School, first as a teacher and then Principal for over 30 years. Juanita received a Masters degree in 1955, the year Allan was born. Juanita was an active member of the First Baptist Church in Fayetteville for more than 70 years, working with 6th grade and then adult Sunday School classes, and Bible Study fellowship as well as many committees. The most memorable of these was the History Committee, for which Juanita developed one of the first histories of the church. She and her family traveled during the summers, visiting many states including Hawaii. She made three visits to Europe, including an extended tour with Georgena in 1967 who was living in London during her Fulbright Fellowship. Juanita made several visits to Canada; one of her last travels was a cruise from Vancouver to Alaska, seeing the glaciers and then going on to Denali National Park with Georgena and Arletha and Frank Honeycutt. After her husband’s death in 1986, she built a new house and traveled to see her family. During her 70s she began to develop macular degeneration, which unfortunately progressed to almost total blindless by her late 90s. Vision became a daily problem that she struggled with, learning to cope with it and still enjoy life and her family. She moved to Butterfield Trail Village in her 80s to help with her vision loss, and her family is grateful for the many friends and caregivers at Butterfield who enriched her life and comfort. Family was her greatest treasure, always in her thoughts and prayers. Juanita was an excellent teacher, a kind and generous person with a good sense of humor and enjoyment of life. Visitation will be Wednesday, February 10, 2021, at Nelson Berna Funeral Home, from 10-12 a.m. A private family service will be held at Fairview Memorial Gardens. A memorial service will be held in early summer to celebrate Juanita’s life. In lieu of flowers, memorials in her memory may be made to the First Baptist Church or Butterfield Trail Village, both in Fayetteville, Arkansas.
To watch a livestream of the funeral service, please visit https://my.gather.app/remember/juanita-duncan
What’s your fondest memory of Juanita?
What’s a lesson you learned from Juanita?
Share a story where Juanita's kindness touched your heart.
Describe a day with Juanita you’ll never forget.
How did Juanita make you smile?