Beverly S. Dillahunty

Beverly Cleo Shepherd Dillahunty was born on April 19th, 1935 in Blytheville, Arkansas. She died September 20th, 2025, preceded by her husband Coy, parents Leslie Thomas and Clarice Cleo Shepherd, and her older brother Thomas Carroll Shepherd. She is survived by her son Bruce and his wife Melanie, grandson Dane and his wife Janna, and her greatly beloved great-granddaughter Sophia Diana Dillahunty. After moving around a bit as a child, her family landed in Columbus, GA where her father was a civilian sheet metal worker for the military. Beverly and her family lived in Baker Village when they first moved to Columbus, then moved nearby when they were able to build a house. They attended Benning Park Baptist Church where she was baptized. She graduated with pride from Baker High School, having attended for the full 12 years (much to her annoyance as her older brother graduated in 11 years since the requirements changed between their graduation dates). Beverly worked as a senior level civil service secretary at Ft. Benning. She always claimed that the shopkeepers in Columbus loved to see her coming on payday to buy a new outfit complete with hat, shoes and all the accessories. While in Columbus she met her future husband Coy, an Army Sergeant, and they had a whirlwind romance they were married February 13, 1965 - 6 months after their first date. Coy had been transferred to Ft. Eustis near Norfolk, VA by that point so she moved to join him. Before their first anniversary Coy was deployed to Vietnam so Beverly moved back to Columbus with her parents. After Coy's safe return they were again in Virginia where her son Bruce was born. Upon leaving the Army in 1968, Coy moved his family to the Atlanta area and worked in the airline industry. After building a house in Jonesboro, they soon joined Jonesboro First Baptist Church and she was a member here the rest of her life, actively engaged with their Sunday School class for many, many years. Beverly was very involved raising Bruce and was always active in shuttling him from place to place. When he was a bit older, she added small businessperson to her resume when she for several years co-owned a craft shop in Jonesboro named "Crafty Hands". Coy fell into Christmas tree farming when they bought some property in Concord, GA which had trees already growing and she supported his endeavors throughout. They later moved to Concord and she opened another gift and craft store, "Beverly's Gifts", in the metropolis of Concord (total population 301 at that time). Beverly and her mother who lived with them by this point could be seen working in the shop, or more often "feeling the cloth" (otherwise known as shopping) at various stores around the south side of Atlanta - they didn't let the moss grow. As age and illnesses began to intrude Coy and Beverly moved onto a property in McDonough with Bruce and Melanie in 2018, joining forces to allow the younger folk to carry a bit more of the load. Coy enjoyed various projects and was always digging another ditch until not long before his death in 2023 after 58 years of marriage. Dane Edward, Bruce and Melanie's son, was Coy and Beverly's only grandchild and they doted on him as much as possible, attending many events, concerts and functions. They were both thrilled with his call to the ministry and after becoming home-bound watched him lead services at his Florida church on the internet feed every Sunday possible. They were able to attend Dane and Janna's wedding together here at Jonesboro's Chapel in 2021. Sophia, Beverly's great-granddaughter, was born in the summer of 2024 after Coy's death. Sophia was a source of great excitement to Beverly - she was able to go to Florida for the birth and excitedly waited for our daily picture to arrive so that she could exclaim how cute her great-granddaughter was. Of course, she was right. A while ago we started a habit of watching Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy together every evening, providing a good family time together that we could all engage in, tossing out random answers and seeing who could solve the puzzles first. Mother was not a wiz at /Jeopardy/, especially not being versed in modern entertainment and trends, but gamely napped between sessions. Not that long ago a category came up which was "Bible fill in the blank" - she nailed every one of them. We had found her category and a better choice you couldn't wish for. She had her priorities straight. Funeral Services will be held at 11 AM, on Monday, September 29, 2025 at First Baptist Church Jonesboro Chapel. Rev Allen Davis will officiate. The family will receive from 10-11 AM at the church prior to the service. Interment will be at 3 PM at Evergreen Memorial Park in Columbus following the church service.

Tributes

Beverly S. Dillahunty

April 19, 1935 - September 20, 2025