Phyllis Gaunt

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 niche 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 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, John Michael Plager, brother, James Godfrey and stepfather 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.

Visitation in Marshalltown, Iowa will be at 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 Methodist Church, 4100 AR-89, Cabot, AR, 72023. For additional information or to send a condolence to the family, please visit www.mitchellfh.com or call 641-844-1234. Mitchell Family Funeral Home of Marshalltown has been entrusted with the care of Phyllis and her family.

Lovingly written by the family.