Wanda Jeanne Lyda

Wanda Jeanne Lyda passed away on October 1, 2022, in Glenwood, AR. She was 88 years old. Loved and admired by many, Wanda was a devoted wife and loving mother who was hard- working and pursued perfection in all she did. She was born in Mena, AR, on May 22, 1934, to Ronald (1902-2003) and Maple Borin (1908-1995). Not long after she graduated from Mena High School in 1951, Wanda started a career in banking with First National Bank of Mena that lasted approximately thirty years. During that time in Mena, Wanda married twice and had a total of three children, Deborah Philpot, Keith Philpot, and Kevin Mos.

In 1981, Wanda married Weldon Lyda (1934-2008) of Newaygo, MI, and left Mena to spend thirty-eight years in Newaygo where she and Weldon ran a horse farm. Wanda decided to start a new career and took classes to get her real estate license. She worked as an agent for a few years, but her entrepreneurial spirit took over and she opened her own real estate company, Lyda Real Estate, where she worked until she retired. After Weldon passed, Wanda stayed in Michigan until 2019 when she moved back to Mena. She had only recently moved to a nursing home in Glenwood, AR, as her health was declining.

Wanda loved reading, gardening, doing crossword puzzles, and playing online trivia in her spare time. She loved cats and had several over the years with her favorite being Kinky Cat whom she had close by her side after Weldon died.

Wanda is predeceased by her brothers Darris and Darrell Borin and her daughter Deborah Lynette Philpot-Johnson.

She is survived by her sons Keith Philpot, Kevin Mos, Warren Lyda, and Doug Lyda; grandchildren, Paul Johnson, Mark Johnson, Lake Philpot, Riley Philpot, Alexander Mos, Madeleine Mos, Tashina Kerr, Shalee Gerencer, and Quinton Lyda; great-grandchildren, Addison Johnson, Emerson Johnson, Axle Johnson, Willow Johnson, Beverly Kerr, Blake Kerr, Trae Gerencer, and Elizabeth Gerencer; nephews, Donald Borin and Ronnie Borin; nieces, Rebecca Hooten and Tammie Wheless, and several extended family members and in-laws.

Services will be graveside at Concord Cemetery, Ink, AR on Friday, October 28, 2022, at 10 AM. Arrangements are under the direction of the Beasley Wood Funeral Home.  To honor Wanda and her love of pets, the family requests, in lieu of flowers and cards, that donations be made in her memory to the Humane Society of the Ouachitas at https://hsomena.org/site/memorial-gift/

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