Jimmy Ray Campbell

Jimmy Ray Campbell was born February 20, 1946 to the late Jessie Lindell Campbell and Margaret Wiladene Gilleylen. Jimmy grew up in Billstown, Arkansas and attended Delight Schools.  It was at school that Jim met the love of his life, Janice Jean Byassee.  Jim and Jan were both fiercely competitive basketball players with the Delight Bulldogs. In 1964, during Jim’s senior year, the DHS men’s basketball team went undefeated and the Bulldogs won the state championship. After graduation, Jim pursued the family trade and began working as an insulator in Houston, Texas.  During a return visit to Delight, Jim asked Jan to be his bride and they were united in Marriage on March 12, 1965.  The couple welcomed their only child, a son, Jeffrey Clark Campbell the following year in June of 1966.  Jim began working as a “traveler” in the insulator trade.  The trio traversed the country from job to job while Jim mastered the trade and became a well-respected Foreman. During their travels, they made many memories and created friendships that would last a lifetime.  Jim was a skilled hunter and avid outdoorsman.  He was always planning his next big hunt. In the late 1970s, Jim and Jan began construction on their dream home together in Billstown, Arkansas.  Jim continued to travel the country, working as an insulator, on projects from coast to coast, from Alaska to Texas, and everywhere in-between.  Jim retired from the Local #114 Insulator’s Union out of Jackson, Mississippi.  Upon retirement Jimmy returned to Billstown where he raised cattle. Jim was a member of the Masonic Order in Delight. Jim began attending church with Jan, and became a member of the First Missionary Baptist Church of Delight.  Jim and Jan spent their retirement years surrounded by family and friends, hunting together, watching basketball games and bull riding, and visiting their only grandchild, Kathleen.  On March 17, 2022 Jimmy Ray Campbell was called Home by the Lord.

Jimmy is reunited in Heaven with his parents, his beloved wife, Jan, and his brother, Johnnie Campbell.  He will be deeply missed by his son, Clark Campbell of Little Rock, Arkansas, granddaughter Kathleen, of Kennesaw, Georgia, brother, Tommy (wife Pam) Campbell of Billstown, Arkansas, brother Ronnie “Pete” (wife Renee) Campbell of Billstown, Arkansas, sister-in-law Donnie Campbell of Billstown, Arkansas, family dog “Pepper”, and many nieces, nephews, cousins, family and friends.  Jim was laid to rest at a private ceremony on March 19, 2022 at the Campbell Cemetery in Billstown, Arkansas.  A memorial service will be held at the Delight First Missionary Baptist Church on March 26, 2022.  The family will receive friends for the service beginning at 11 am.  In lieu of flowers, donations may be directed to the Campbell Cemetery Maintenance Fund, the Campbell Family Scholarship fund, or the Delight First Missionary Baptist Church. Donations to Campbell Cemetery Maintenance Fund or Campbell Memorial Foundation can both be directed to P.O. Box 89, Delight, AR, 71940.