Obituaries for the week of May 11, 2017

Duncan
Royce Oliver Duncan was born Dec. 7, 1928 in Pittsburg, Texas to Nathaniel and Alice Duncan. 
He was the last of eight children. He passed away May 1, 2017. Royce was married to Rosemary Rye Duncan for 53 years and had three children; Cathy, Becky, and Steven Duncan.
After retiring from the Post Office in Longview, Texas in 1984, he and Rose Mary moved to the Mena area, and after Rose Mary passed in 2005, he continued to live there until 2013. He moved to Texarkana, Texas after selling his home.
Royce enjoyed sports, gardening, and wood carving.  
He served in the Korean War in 1950-1952.
Royce is survived by a daughter, Becky Knepp and husband Tim of Linden, Texas; five grandsons, Matthew, Joshua, Erick, Jake and Justin; granddaughter,   Kelli and many great-grand children.
Royce was preceded in death by his parents, Nathaniel and Alice Duncan; wife Rose Mary; son, Steven and daughter, Cathy; brothers, Foy Duncan of Houston, Eldred of Sheveport, La., Hubert of Sheveport, La., sisters, Gertha Fay Hudnal of Clovis, New Mexico, Mavon Benson of Austin, Melba Holmes of Pittsburg, and Allene Hackler of Pittsburg.
Funeral services were, May 4, 2017, 10 a.m. at Beasley Wood Chapel with Brother Joe Head officiating. Interment will follow in the Pleasant Grove Cemetery in Cove under the direction of the Beasley Wood Funeral Home of Mena.
Family and friends visitation was prior to service.
Harris
Jo Taylor Harris passed away Friday morning, May 5, at the age of 90. She was born in Big Sandy, Texas in 1927 to J.D. and Pearl Faulk Smith. At an early age Jo showed an amazing aptitude and ability for painting. After receiving a formal education from North Texas State University in Denton, Texas, and at the University of Guanajuato, Mexico, where she studied as an exchange student, Jo began her long professional art career.
Mrs. Harris painted full-time for gallery shows for nearly seven years. Her paintings appear in museums and in private and corporate collections. Eighteen of her award-winning paintings have been procured by a private collector for permanent display at Baylor University in Waco.
Her entries and awards earned her active membership and signature status in the American Watercolor Society in 1977, making her the first woman from Texas to achieve that honor. She is one of the charter members and a signature member of the Southwestern Watercolor Society in Dallas. She was elected an honorary member of the New Mexico Watercolor Society, and the Mt. Pleasant Watercolor Society in Mt. Pleasant, Texas.
Jo spent 14 years teaching at the Northeast Texas Community College in Mt. Pleasant where she honed her skills and established her reputation as one of America’s premiere water color artists, and as a talented teacher.
After her retirement, Jo moved to Rockwall and stayed active in the art community. She became a partner at Artisans Studio Gallery in Dallas where she taught for several years. In 2003 Jo published her book “Watercolor Wisdom: Lessons from a Lifetime of Painting and Teaching”. “Watercolor Wisdom” documents and explores that astounding creative energy that Jo knew so intimately.
Jo is survived by her daughters: Mary Akin and Beth Morgan and husband Ron; 7 grandchildren: Jonathan Aslan, Matthew Aslan, Joseph Aslan, Leigh Putman, John Morgan, Haley Taylor, and Emily Taylor.
She was preceded in death by her husband: Jodie Ralph Harris; her son: Robert B. Taylor, Jr.; and two sisters: Juanita Duncan and Arlene Parks.
Graveside services were held Saturday, May 6, at Rose Hill Cemetery in Pittsburg, under the direction of Erman Smith Funeral Home.

Broadstreet
J.W. Broadstreet, 93, of Leesburg, passed away at his home May 6, 2017, surrounded by his loved ones. J.W. was born Jan.  3, 1924 in Winona to Eugene and Dessie Newkirk Broadstreet. A graveside service was held May 8, at Leesburg Cemetery with Bro. Ken Manley officiating.