Lindy Miller Ferneau

    Lindylee “Lindy” Miller Ferneau, lovingly known as Lindy, passed away on February 12, 2026, at the age of 78. She was born on June 24, 1947, in St. Paul, Minnesota, to Frances and Clayton Miller. Lindy spent many of her years in Sterling and Rock Falls, Illinois, where she and her husband, Donald Ferneau Sr., raised their family while Don worked for the railroad. She later made her home in Sherwood, Arkansas, surrounded by family and the people and things she loved most.

     Lindy lived a life centered on love, loyalty, and family. She held many roles throughout her life, including bartender, waitress, cash room manager at her beloved JCPenney, and later devoted caretaker to her husband. Her greatest joy and proudest role was being a mother to her five children. Her family was the center of her world, and she gave of herself freely every single day.

     To be loved by Lindy was to feel safe. To be around her was to experience pure joy. She had an extraordinary gift for seeing the good in everyone, no matter what, and she had an uncanny ability to listen with patience, compassion, and understanding. People left conversations with Lindy feeling lighter, supported, and deeply cared for. To her, family was not defined by blood alone. Once you were hers, you were hers forever. She was fiercely loyal and loved without condition.

     Lindy found happiness in life’s simple and meaningful traditions. Every Christmas, her homemade cinnamon rolls filled the house with the unmistakable feeling of home. For every holiday, she baked her famous iced sugar cookies and shared them generously with friends, neighbors, and family. She loved her shiny diamonds, the color purple, and cheering passionately for her beloved Chicago Bears. Each football season her living room became a shrine to the team she loved. But make no mistake, even as a devoted Bears fan, she never hesitated to admire a great quarterback, no matter the team.

     She also had a lifelong love for Boston Terriers and was fiercely devoted to each one she cared for over the years, most recently her cherished companions, Charlie and Millie.

     Above all, Lindy’s grandchildren were her life. She was an incredibly proud grandmother and great-grandmother, and nothing brought her more happiness than time spent with her family.

     Lindy was preceded in death by her beloved husband, Donald Ferneau Sr., her parents, Frances and Clayton Miller, her brother, Randy, and her granddaughter, Lindsay.

     She is survived by her sister, Cheryl Sharp (James Sharp), and her children: Michael Ferneau (Kelly Welty Ferneau), Lisa Ferneau-Haynes (Ray Haynes), Ron Ferneau (Eliza Vazquez), Donald Ferneau Jr. (Meaghan Ferneau), and Jeffrey Ferneau (Loren Ferneau). She also leaves behind too many grandchildren and great-grandchildren to count, along with many extended family members and dear friends who will carry her memory forward.

     A Service of Remembrance will be held at Smith Family Funeral Home (7700 Hwy 107) in Sherwood, Arkansas, on Saturday, February 21st, from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m. The service is open to the public, and attendees are encouraged to wear purple in honor of Lindy.

     In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to the Arkansas Foodbank. Please visit online at arkansasfoodbank.org/support/donate-funds, or mail to Arkansas Foodbank, 4301 W. 65th St, Little Rock, AR 72209, or call 501-569-4306. Lindy believed deeply that no child should ever go hungry.

     Lindy’s love was steady, fierce, and unconditional. The kindness she gave so freely will live on in the lives she touched, in the traditions she passed down, and in the family she loved with her whole heart.

     She will be deeply missed and forever remembered.