Born in Dallas, Texas, she met Marvin (whom she calls Charlie) in 1954 at Decatur Baptist College (now Dallas Baptist University). Six months later they were married and began pastoring churches in Texas, Missouri, and Florida. They have been married 59 years and are still serving God in their local church, First Baptist of De Soto, Missouri.
Juanita's many hobbies kept her busy through these many years. She made clothes for herself and her children, then took up all kinds of embroidery. She did classic and crewel emboidery until she bought a Bernina embroidery machine. She has made quilts since 1984, and they grace the homes of her children, family, and friends. She does oil and acrylic paintings. She was a multi-tasker before that term became an often-used word.
After retirement, she started writing. In 1999 she wrote It Wasn't Easy, But it Sure Was Fun, a story of her life, for her grandchildren. Then in 2010, she revised her family memoir and called it A Heritage of Faith, telling how God led her family to become Christians. In her book she tells amazing stories of how God directed the life of her father to become a minister, then led her to marry a minister. She sold her books through direct mailings and speaking engagements in many churches.
Besides her book, A Heritage of Faith, Juanita's work is included in three anthologies: Love is a Verb, by Gary Chapman, Celebrating Christmas with Memories, Poetry, and Good Food, compiled by Editor Donna Clark Goodrich, and Mothers and Grandmothers, also compiled by Goodrich.
In addition, she has contributed to several magazines. She recently wrote 14 devotionals for the Nazarene Publishing House in Kansas City.
Juanita's most recent work, Ordinary People come Face-to-Face with Extraordinary God, is a study of about 40 people from the Bible, many of them lesser-known. It is written in Bible Study format.
Juanita is a member of Heart of America Christian Writers Network and Writers' Guild of Jefferson County.
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