of Little Italy, AR

September 15, 1944 - August 12, 2021

Paula Ann (Bryant) Mooney, 76, of Little Italy, passed away peacefully at home surrounded by her family Thursday, August 12, 2021 due to cancer. She was born September 15, 1944 in Nashville, Arkansas.

In 1965, Paula began her professional nursing career after graduating from the Louisville General Hospital School of Nursing in Louisville, Kentucky.
She excelled at nursing and enjoyed a varied career in the field working in hospitals and private practices, state government as well as with a lawyer as a medical paralegal. Caregiving came natural to her, and this extended into her personal life as well.

Paula loved to garden, and her organic herbs and vegetables nourished her family as well as her community. She became a Perry County Master Gardener and was able to share her passion for plants with her friends and family equipped with practical solutions to keep plants healthy and vibrant.

She also practiced Tai Chi for many years, continuing her exploration about the energy of life in this moving meditation that allowed her to meet and enjoy deep friendships with others of a like mind. She especially enjoyed her time spent with the Tai Chi community of Mountain Home, Arkansas.

Paula loved her home in Little Italy. She and Bill worked hard on developing their home to take advantage of the natural beauty on top of Wye Mountain. Visitors always remarked about how peaceful and serene their place is and it was her favorite place to be in the world. Many blessed days ended with a drink and long conversation on the front porch.
Paula was a devoted wife to Bill; mother to her children, Stacie and Shawn and stepchildren, Missy and Rusty. One of the great gifts from her marriage to Bill was the addition of her stepchildren. She was able to take on the role of grandmother to their children as their "Nonna". She was very proud of her grandchildren and took great pleasure in watching them grow and develop into the young adults they are becoming.

When Paula was diagnosed with cancer, it dealt a devastating blow to her family. She fought courageously and with dignity and her family can never begin to thank the community of Little Italy for their loving kindness and support during this especially difficult time.
Her family would also like to thank her caregivers at Elite Home Health and Arkansas Hospice. It was her wish to pass peacefully at home and the care she received from these two organizations was exemplary.

She is preceded in death by her parents, Claud (stepfather) and Dorothy Hassett, and Grafton Bryant.

Paula is survived by her husband, Bill Mooney; brother David (June) Bryant; children Stacie (Shayne) Florer and Shawn Smith; stepchildren Melissa (Mike) Morehart and Rusty (Stephanie) Mooney; grandchildren Jacob, Savannah, Maggie and Ransom. Paula is also survived by the loving and supportive community of Little Italy, the extended family that she was proud to be a member of during the last 33 years of her life.

Graveside service will be 11:00 AM Monday, August 16, 2021 at St. Francis Cemetery on Hwy 300 near Bigelow. There is no scheduled visitation
.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Little Rock Catholic High School and Mount St. Mary's High School.
www.lrchs.org
www.mtstmary.edu

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