Phyllis Jean Gaunt, 92, Cabot, Arkansas

Phyllis Jean Gaunt, 92, of Cabot, Arkansas, passed away Monday, December 23, 2024. She was born November 3, 1932, in Jamaica, Iowa to Peter James and Mabel Anne (Remele) Godfrey. Phyllis was a life-long teacher and learner, completing her B.A. in 1975. She taught elementary children in the West Marshall and Colo schools in Iowa, as well as substituting in many area schools, before moving to Cabot, Arkansas, in 1980 with her husband and two sons. In Cabot, she continued teaching and found her nitch at the Child Development Center (CDC) at the Little Rock Air Force Base in Jacksonville, which also became her “second family”. (She retired twice from the CDC, the second time at age 84.)

Phyllis was an active volunteer all her life and a member of the Mount Tabor United Methodist Church in Cabot. Phyllis has touched more lives than we can count … her family, friends, church members, neighbors, co-workers, strangers, students, people who are ill or residing in nursing homes, and especially children who are eager to learn or perhaps just need some attention or a hug for the day. The list goes on and on!

In addition to her parents, Ms. Phyllis was preceded in death by her husband, John Robert Gaunt, Sr.; grandson, Johnny Michael Plager, brother, James Godfrey and step-father August Meinecke.

Those left to cherish her memory and to miss her dearly are her children, John Gaunt, Jr. (Monica), Julie Arnold (Doug), James Gaunt and Jeanne Harrison (Mark); seven grandchildren; eleven great-grandchildren, as well as numerous extended family members and friends.

Funeral services in Cabot, Arkansas will be 10:00 a.m., Saturday, December 28, 2024 at Mount Tabor United Methodist Church with Jeff Warrick and Ray Vining officiating. There will be a fellowship and lunch at the church following the service. Arrangements by Moore’s Cabot Funeral Home, 501-843-5816. Visitation in Marshalltown, Iowa will be 10:30 a.m., Tuesday, December 31, 2024 at the Mitchell Funeral Home, 1209 Iowa Ave W, Marshalltown, IA 50158. Funeral service will begin at 11:30 a.m., followed by lunch and then interment at Clemons Cemetery.

Donations in Phyllis’s name may be directed to Mount Tabor United Methodist Church, 4100 AR-89, Cabot, AR, 72023.