Joan Ruth (Roper) Nelson

Joan Ruth Nelson (Roper), 84, of Viola, Arkansas, passed away on March 14, 2023 in her granddaughter’s home in Garland, Texas.

Joan Ruth Roper was born to Joseph Clifton and Lillie Myrtle Roper in Bakersfield, MO on September 13, 1938. After Joan graduated as Class Valedictorian from Viola High School in 1956, she went on to study at Draughon’s Business College in Springfield, MO, where she met her husband, Billy Dean Nelson, of Morrisville, MO.

After graduating in 1958, Joan and Bill were married on April 5, 1959. They moved to Kansas City, MO, where Joan worked for an insurance company as a secretary until the birth of their first child in 1961. In Missouri, Bill and Joan raised five children, Daniel Allan, Janice Arlene, Ricky Dean, David Leon, and Francis Lynn.

Joan and Bill moved their family to Independence, MO in 1966, Sacramento, CA in 1978, then Bellevue, WA in 1981. Joan was a devoted stay-at-home mom until the move to Bellevue, when she began work for Bud’s Top Soil, Inc. as an office and dispatch manager. In 1995, they retired to Reno, NV until Bill’s death in 1998. Joan returned to Viola and kept a farm for 15 years before moving in with family upon the onset of Alzheimer's Disease.

Joan’s laugh was infectious and her smile came easy. She took pleasure in sewing, gardening, and reading. She was dedicated and steadfast to her family and relationship with God and her savior, Jesus Christ. Joan was a devoted wife to her life-long love, Bill, and held him near to her heart long after his death. She cherished her children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren with unconditional and everlasting love. She connected with them by phone and cross-country visits, and cared for her granddaughter, Nicole, while she underwent numerous hospital treatments and for her grandson, Jeremiah, while his father was on the road driving semi-trucks throughout the country.

Joan was predeceased by her husband, Bill (58), parents Clifton and Lillie Roper, sisters Audra Lee (Chester) Wilson and Patricia Sue Roper, brother Carl Laverne (Mary) Roper Sr., and grandson Liam Nathaniel Callahan. She is survived by two brothers - JC (Anne Marie) and Johnnie Lynn (Justine) Roper, five children - Dan (Becky) Nelson, Jan (Matthew) Callahan, Rick (JoAnn) Nelson, Dave Nelson, and Fran (Tammi) Nelson, six grandchildren - Jennifer Elizabeth Nelson, Nicole Katherine Nelson, Seth Patrick Callahan, Meaghan Nicole Callahan, Joshua Michael Callahan, and Jeremiah Dean Nelson, and three great grandchildren - Evelyn Grace Callahan, Korban Patrick Callahan, and Elias Nathaniel Callahan.

Services will be held at Enterprise Baptist Church (5495 Mt Calm Rd) in Viola on Friday, March 24th at 1 o’clock in the afternoon. A public viewing will be at noon and a potluck will follow the burial at the church. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to the Alzheimer’s Association (https://www.alz.org/get-involved-now/donate).