Rev. John W. Jeffries, 78, died at 9:50 a.m. April 16th, 1996 after a long illness. Rev. Jeffries was born Feb. 27, 1918, in Aldrich, Mo. He moved to the Carthage area in 1946 from Humansville. He was a truck operator for Carmar Corp., retiring in 1986. He was also a retired Baptist minister and a U.S. Army veteran of World War II. He married Mildred Kennedy on March 27, 1938, in Lamar. Surviving are his wife and four sons: Dwayne, Nathan, Kenneth, and Timothy. Also, eight grandchildren, 12 great-grandchildren, and one great-great-grandchild. He was blessed by visiting with most of his beloved relatives during his stay in the hospital before his passing.
****************************************************
"Johnny" as everyone called him, was raised in a line of "Old Time" Southern Baptist Preachers. Many others were among his brothers and sisters as well. Coming from a very large and loving home, with 12 siblings who all lived to adulthood, he knew and shared with us all his deep love for family. They were examples for us to follow here on Earth as he was among the very best teachers. Through many years of devotion to spreading the Word of God in country churches (where he felt they were often overlooked) he continued his dedication to helping as many souls find The Lord as possible. When asked how many souls he had lead to the Lord, his modest reply was that he couldn't even hazard a guess. So many owe so much to this man, one of God's Faithful Servants. Johnny's sermons taught us all of the glory of accepting Christ as our personal Savior. He could preach with the full power of fire and brimstone as his Father before him. During his lifetime he was blessed with helping so many of his own family to find the Lord. The photo is of baptizing his brother Phil. He was fortunate in knowing that he all of his children had accepted Christ. I know, because my Dad helped me. He is sorely missed on Earth among us, but I know he had so many he loved waiting on the other side to greet him. Most of all, the Lord was there to greet him - "Welcome Home - Thou Good and Faithful Servant".