Mrs. Lillian Byerly, a longtime resident of Hickory Ridge, Arkansas, departed this life Thursday, Aug. 13, 2026, at St. Bernard’s Regional Medical Center in Jonesboro, Arkansas, at the age of 85. She was born in McCrory on Sept. 24, 1940, the daughter of Earnest and Daisey Mae (Coley) Meredith.
Lillian married Joseph Aaron Byerly on Oct. 24, 1961, and they were blessed with 40 years together before his passing in 2002. She was a member of Hickory Ridge Landmark Missionary Baptist Church.
Lillian is remembered for her years of employment at American Greetings and Kennon’s Dairy Bar. In years past, she enjoyed participating in the Ladies’ Auxiliary and Home Extension, as well as canning and selling Avon products. In more recent years, Lillian found joy in crafting, especially quilting and crochet, and in reading, with a particular fondness for western novels.
Lillian was preceded in death by her husband, Joseph; her parents; a son, Kenneth Byerly; two brothers, Charles “Buster” Meredith and Harold Lynn Meredith; and two sisters, Betty Winterholder and Sylvia Campbell.
She is survived by two sons, Joseph Byerly Jr. of Wynne and Phillip Byerly and wife, Anna, of Gulfport, Mississippi; a daughter, Connie Moss of Hickory Ridge; three brothers, Tommy Meredith, Earnest Meredith Jr. and wife, Leona, of Cherry Valley, and Stanley Meredith and wife, Beverly, of Jonesboro; a sister, Geneva Walls and partner, Jerry, of Quitman; three grandchildren, Jeremy, Phillip Jr., and Thomas; two great-grandchildren, Lily Ann and Jack; and a host of other relatives and friends.
Funeral services will be conducted at 11 a.m. Tuesday, Aug. 18, 2026, in the Thompson-Wilson Funeral Home Chapel in Wynne with Bro. Mike Lee officiating. Interment will follow in Lewis Cemetery near Hickory Ridge.
Friends may visit at the funeral home from 10:00 a.m. until service time.
Arrangements by Thompson-Wilson Funeral Home of Wynne.
