Joshua Michael Jones, 25 years old, resident of Atkins, Arkansas, went to be with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ suddenly, but peacefully on Saturday, April 26th, 2025. But we, the family, believe God spared him from the endless futility of this world.

Josh was born on July 13th, 1999, in Conway, Arkansas at Conway Regional Medical Center. He is the child of Kevin Jones and Crystal Duvall. Josh graduated from Atkins High School in 2018 and joined and served the National Guard. He worked several different jobs during his time here on earth; the grocery store - Bill’s Cash Saver - being one of them, where many in our community remember him from his years working there as a teenager. He worked at ARDOT at the time of his passing.

Joshua Michael Jones was preceded in death by his grandfather, Jim Duvall and great-grandmother, Bonnie Duvall.

He is survived by his father, Kevin Jones and stepmom Heather; his mother, Crystal Duvall; Grandparents, Eddie and Rita Jones, Mike and Anita Tilley, and Rhonda Duvall; Sister, Kaylee Young (Tyler) and step-siblings, Reid and Kirby Albright; Aunts, Melanie Jones-Duvall and Carrie (Christopher) Boren; Uncle, Eric (Casey) Duvall, Chad (Erica) Tilley; Step-Uncle, Jerod (Ashlee) Tilley; Niece, Haven Young - whom he referred to as “the squish”; cousins Nicolas, Abby, Brilee, Emerie, Bailey, Brooklyn, Jacob, Alex, Kaycin, Luke, Austin, Connier and Jaylee. And many more that loved and cared for him dearly throughout his life.

Josh was an avid football, Star Wars, Spider Man, Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit, hard rock/screamo fan. Josh was a die hard, dedicated, team player who had a true and passionate love for the game of football. He loved his teammates and the camaraderie between them all. He shared this love for football with his father and they also shared a love for video games. They played together all the time along with his closest friends and some other close family members.

Josh saw the world through the lens of the characters he loved and found ways to intertwine them with his faith. In Star Wars: the last Jedi, Luke Skywalker tells Leia, “No one is ever really gone,” which is a touching and moving line about the enduring presence of loved ones even after death. Luke says this to Leia particularly in the context of her concerns about her son, Kylo Ren, and his potential redemption. The line also subtly refers to the idea of the force and the way that the dead can continue to be present through their connection to the force. Josh would relate “the force” to the spirit that dwells inside of us as believers of Jesus Christ.

Josh was a member of Atkins Bells Chapel Assembly of God. There was a time when Josh isolated himself. The waves of life had engulfed him, and he could not and would not show his face due to feeling as though he’d failed. Guilt, shame, and church hurt kept him hidden inside the four walls of his room. We add this troubling part of his life to give you the bigger picture. He held a lot of anger, bitterness, and resentment towards others and himself throughout this dark time. I, Kaylee, his sister also went through a dark time and came out of it through the grace of God. I wanted to see Josh come out of that darkness as well. I invited him back to Bells Chapel. Although leery of the idea at first, eventually my efforts were met. Soon after, he was standing next to me almost every service, worshipping and praying with me. He and I, through the power of the Holy Spirit, began to experience a bond we had never had in our entire lives. The light of Jesus began to infiltrate his entire being and soon everyone around him saw this tremendous change in Josh. Every single one of Josh’s closest friends and family members were blessed beyond measure to be able to stand by and witness this extreme and life altering encounter that Josh had with the Lord. It has changed each of us.

We believe collectively that Jesus chased Josh down to the last second of his life, as He does and will always do for all His children whom he loves. Josh began to realize that his sin died on the cross with Jesus. The stones of anger and bitterness were rolled away from his grave of depression that he had lived in for quite some time, right along with the stone that rolled away from the empty tomb of Jesus all those years ago. And through this, I come to tell you that Jesus is STILL rolling those stones away today. That is what is so profound and evident through the testimony of Josh’s life. Josh cared so much that his closest friends all come to know this love and light that Jesus had shed into his life and I hope that it goes much farther than that, radically changing the lives of all those who hear his story.

Pallbearers will be Kevin Jones, Riley Bowden, Nic Ferguson, Tyler Young, Chris Boren, and Seth Derline.  Honorary pallbearers are Eric Duvall, Bobby Duvall, David Hill, Abron Sorrels, and Reid Albright.  A memorial service will be held Saturday, May 3rd at 10:00 a.m. at Bells Chapel Assembly of God Church with Rev. Chad Duvall officiating under the direction of Lemley Funeral Service.  Private burial to be held at St. Joe Cemetery at a later date. 

Online obituary and condolences are available at www.lemleyfuneral.com.