MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Eva Jean Phifer,

was born to Forrest and Libby Horton on June 7, 1934, in Slovak, Arkansas. She was preceded in death by her parents and her brother, Jack. On June 15, 1951, she married Earl Brown Phifer and they had four children. The majority of their life together was spent in Stuttgart, Arkansas. When Earl retired, they relocated to his hometown of Hazen, and when his health declined they moved to Memphis, Tennessee, to be near family. Jean was active in the First Christian Church of Stuttgart, as well as the Arkansas County Home Demonstration Club. She loved golf and vacationing at the lake. She was an excellent cook and seamstress. When she joined the workforce, Jean worked for Dr. Dean Laird as a dental assistant and then as an associate at Majestic Dress Shop, where she and her colleagues became lifelong friends.

A loving mother and grandmother, Jean is survived by her four children, Sherry Welch of Lexington, Kentucky; Vicki Hornbeck (Rob) of Jonesboro, Arkansas; Chuck Phifer (Karen) of Flower Mound, Texas; and Tracy Gibbs (Steve) of Memphis, Tennessee. She is also survived by grandchildren, Matthew Welch, Benjamin Welch, and Kathryn Perry, Lucas Hornbeck, Elizabeth Reber, Melanie Esp, David Hornbeck, Jake and Cody Phifer, and Jordan Rorie, Haley Sartor, and Rainey Gibbs. In her later years, Jean adored spending time with her 19 great-grandchildren and with the “sister she never had”, Beverly Phifer Wood.

Services are pending, Memorials in her name may be sent to the Museum of the Grand Prairie, 921 East 4th Street, Stuttgart, Ark., 72160.