JO ANN “JODY” MCKENNON HENSLEE

passed away on February 5th, 2023.

Jody was born in Dumas, Ark., on November 18, 1931, to Joe Lee and Martha Hellums McKennon.

She attended Dumas schools, Stephens College, and then traveled to Dallas, Texas, to graduate from Southern Methodist University. At SMU, Jody joined Chi Omega sorority, and followed in the steps of her mother, an early member of the founding chapter of Chi Omega sorority at the University of Arkansas.

Jody returned to Dumas and married George Henry Cousins, Jr. She and George had four children, Lee Ann, Martha (“Mari”), George Henry III, and Claude. They then settled into a life of raising their family.

Jody was a devoted member of First United Methodist Church in Dumas, and enjoyed life with her husband, children, parents, and friends. Her life was changed by the premature death of her husband in 1965 at age 38. Jody, with the help of her parents and dear friends, set about raising her four children and assorted horses, dogs, and cats. She then met and married Lee Henslee, Jr., and she and her children moved to Pine Bluff, Ark. They soon became the proud parents of Lila. Incredibly, tragedy again struck Jody and Lee passed away in 1980 at age 52.

Jody was a devoted member of First Presbyterian Church, the Mathontes Club, and the “Bridge Club” that never played cards. She volunteered at Neighbor to Neighbor, and as always enjoyed the company of friends. Jody lived a life surrounded by family and friends and continued the worry-free ways of her own Arkansas childhood that occurred in the years before World War II. To her, doors were not made to be locked. If she encountered one, Jody repeatedly rang the doorbell so the person who locked the door would not do so in the future. Her bar was always open for “happy hour” regardless of the hour. Friends dropped in without hesitation, as notice was simply not required.

Jody enjoyed wonderful times at Pawleys Island, S.C., in the company of her sister, Martha, and Martha’s husband, Henry, and her nephews, John Henry “Hank” Sitton, III, (Karen) and Joe Lee McKennon Sitton. Countless quiet evenings were spent in rockers on the back porch of the beach houses, listening to the waves and enjoying the company of family and friends. That was her “favorite time” and she would return year after year. In later years she made the roundtrip from Pine Bluff to Dumas countless times, providing care for her parents, who also lived into their nineties, and passed away within a week of each other.

Her stories and memories were endless, and included Choco the dog, who did not have a doghouse, but slept in the backseat of her open van every night. She attended church every Sunday, but never ever, stayed for the last hymn, thus the reason for the back row. Her cousin, Biddley Wood, and lifelong friend Marcie Smith, were frequently part of the fun.

She loved an endless stream of funny-named dogs and cats, and even had a pet raccoon. When grandchildren became a part of her family, she promptly declared her new moniker to be “Precious Darling Grandmother”. While her official name remained Jo Ann Henslee, she was from that point forward simply known as “Precious” to all her friends and family.

As the years passed and her family moved to Little Rock, she followed them as well. As was her style, she made new friends and celebrated her old ones that made the move. As people like to say, “it was quite a ride.”

Jody was predeceased by her parents; her husbands; a sister, Martha McKennon Sitton (Henry, Jr.); and grandson, Henry Matthew Seale; and countless friends she knew along the way.

She is survived by her five devoted and loving children, Lee Ann Bradbury, Martha Marie Cousins Eilbott (Don), George Henry Cousins, III, Claude Chapman Cousins, Sr. (Beth), and Lila Henslee Dickey (Ted). She is survived by 11 grandchildren, Rachel Bradbury Pitre (John Raymond), Ralph Bradbury, Jr. (Lauren), Jo Ann Moss (Dennis), Lee Elizabeth Eilbott, George Henry Cousins, IV, Katherine Cousins Dudley (Robert), Claude Chapman Cousins, Jr., Grace Ann Dickey, Edward Clark Dickey, Elizabeth Henslee Dickey, and William Lee Dickey. She loved the attention of her five great-grandchildren, Rett Pitre, Lillian Bradbury, Robert Bradbury, Brooks Moss, and Amelia Dudley.

Services will be on Thursday, February 9, 2023, at 3;30 p.m. at St. James United Methodist Church, Little Rock. As planned by Jody, her family will officiate. Graveside will be private at the McKennon Family plot at Walnut Lake Cemetery, Pickens, Ark. The family asks that you raise a glass of your favorite beverage (her choice was always chardonnay!) and remember Jody, her wonderful life, and the people and times that she touched during her time with us. Memorials may be made to Central Arkansas Radiation Therapy Institute (CARTI), Neighbor to Neighbor in Pine Bluff, or Dumas First United Methodist Church, Dumas, Ark. Arrangements under the care of RuebelFuneralHome.com