Meredith Danielle Paul

ABILENE: Meredith Danielle Paul, 30, unexpectedly passed away on Saturday, January 18, 2020 at her home in Abilene. A funeral service will be held on Thursday, January 23, 2020 at 2:00pm in the Sanctuary of Jim Ned Valley Church of Christ, close family friend, Marcy Grun is officiating, funeral services are entrusted to the care of Fry-Smith Funeral Home, Tuscola. A visitation will be held on Wednesday, January 22, from 5 to 7pm at the funeral home in Tuscola.

Meredith was born on October 22, 1989 to Shirley Paul in Abilene.  She attended school at Jim Ned through junior high, she then transferred to Dorothy Perkins Christian Academy in Tye. Meredith graduated from high school with honors in 2004. She moved to Arkansas and attended school for her CNA degree. Meredith’s caring heart and her CNA degree allowed her to fulfill a dream of caring for the elders in retirement centers throughout Arkansas and later in Abilene. It was the birth of her son, Jessie, that taught her agape love and brought her back to Tuscola.

Meredith’s caring heart was also the source for the love of animals, any animal.  It was not uncommon for her to come home with a stray she had found. She loved to laugh and always had a smile in every photograph.  She had a passion for reading anything she could find. Meredith was a devout Elvis fan, even winning a guitar from the same store that sold Elvis his first guitar. She enjoyed the open road on a motorcycle and was her happiest when that motorcycle was a Harley Davidson.

She married Jim Cook, and they traveled the open roads of Arkansas on a Harley, stopping to camp and enjoy the beauty Arkansas had to offer. Though their marriage was short, their deep friendship lasted till her passing.

She is survived by her son, Jessie; mother, Shirley Mabes and her husband Clyde; brother, Wesley Paul and wife Autumn; maternal grandparents, Kathy and David Swaim; aunt, Betty Brown and husband Simon; great aunt and uncle, Tommy Ann and Gerald Waggoner; great aunt, Nancy Storie; cousin, Jakobi Brown. She is also survived by her nephew and niece Phoenix and Emma; and longtime friend and companion Duane Lanier.

She was preceded in death by her uncle Adam Swaim; grandfather, Wesley Odell Paul; great grandparents, Richard and Maxine Pierson, A.L. Meredith, and Marie Fuller.

Condolences may be left at www.fry-smith.com.