Cloma Natalie Koonce was born on September 29, 1942, and transitioned to her Heavenly home on December 14, 2022. She was welcomed by her precious Mother, two brothers, Donnie Crossett and Glenn Crossett. Her two sisters Naomi McCann and Betty Green were there as well. What a Homecoming!
Natalie was the youngest of seven children born to Lester Crossett and Opal Dennard Crossett. She lettered in basketball in High School and married her High School Sweetheart Ben Koonce. They were married for 26 years and had one child, Jennifer.
While Ben had a job traveling Monday-Friday, Natalie basically had to raise her daughter as a single mother would have. She never missed a junior high basketball or football game as her daughter was in the Pep Club and Drill team during Junior High school. Choir concerts were always attended even when she got home at 5:30 p.m. and had to be at the school at 6:00. She was SO dedicated to her daughter.
She was the FAVORITE Aunt, always making her nieces and nephews laugh at her crazy antics. She pierced ALL of her nieces’ ears with an ice cube, potato and a sewing needle. She took her daughter to a place with a piercing gun to have hers done. Her co-workers at BCBS tell the story of her coming into a meeting and pretending she was a meteorologist gesturing against the dry erase board as her weather screen.
She has been described as having a heart of gold. She was known to give a person anything she had if you needed it. She was a fantastic cook; she could make a bologna sandwich taste delicious. One young friend stated, "she made the best purple hull peas and cornbread I've ever had".
She was strong, smart, beautiful (would take her glasses off for every picture), fun loving and adventurous (took her daughter and friends TP'ing a house for the first time). She was a cheerleader to her daughter for anything she did in life, advice giver, great listener and raunchy joke teller (even at 80 years old, just for the shock value). In her younger days she loved Elvis Presley.
She had a "thing" for little children. She loved them, loved to gently pinch their cheeks or rub the back of her hand on them, and you could see the love she felt. She would get a happy meal at McDonald's then look around for a child to give it to. She loved all little kids except for the mouthy little boy at Chick Fil A when she turned around and told him to "shut up". He did.
She is survived by her daughter, Jennifer Hazel and husband, Ken, and only grandchild whom she adored, Scarlett Hazel, all of Allen, Texas; sisters, Winnie "Pooh" Hope of Russellville, Arkansas, and Lennie Laux of North Little Rock , Arkansas, along with many nieces and nephews.
MOTHER
Of all the precious gifts in life
However great or small-
To have you as my Mother
was the greatest gift of all.
She lived 80 fantastic years. Jennifer was blessed to be there for 55 of those. I miss you.