HOLIDAY ISLAND — Jane Speed,

formerly of Earle, Ark., passed away on December 26, 2023, just four days short of her ninetieth birthday. She was born December 30, 1933, in Columbus, Miss. to Gertrude (Turner) and Howell Hunter Phillips. Jane graduated from Mississippi State College for Women (now Mississippi University for Women) with an undergraduate degree in education and later earned a master’s degree in education from the University of Mississippi.

She married Bryan Speed of Ethelsville, Ala. in 1955. They moved to Earle, Ark. in 1957 and began long careers in public education. She taught elementary school in the Earle, Wynne, and Parkin public school systems for more than 35 years.

While in Earle she was an active member of the Earle Methodist Church, playing the piano for worship services into her mid-80s. She was also active in the Earle Music Coterie, the Earle Chamber of Commerce, and the Crittenden County Museum Board, and was a 60-year member of Delta Kappa Gamma.

In 2021 Jane moved to Peachtree Retirement and Assisted Living Center in Holiday Island, Ark., and lived there until her death.

She was preceded in death by her parents, her husband Bryan, sister Mary Miller and brother Bill Phillips. Survivors include her three sons, Drew Speed (Jill) and Mark Speed (Brenda), both of Little Rock, and John Gregory Speed of Eureka Spring; grandchildren Bryan, Allison, Macon, Olivia and Rolando; great-grandchildren Max and Pierce and many nieces and nephews.

“A Celebration of Life” will be held on Saturday, January 27th, at 1:30 p.m., at the First United Methodist Church of Earle. In lieu of flowers, memorials can be made to the Earle First UMC (P.O. Box 661, Earle, Ark. 72331) or to the Holiday Island Community Church (HICC, P.O. Box 3055, Holiday Island, Ark. 72631) where she was a member at the time of her death.