Mr. Joel Heard age 83 of Rex passed away April 18, 2021. Mr. Heard was a member of The Rock Baptist Church. He was preceded in death by his parents: Roy and Alpha Heard; wife: Patricia Joe-Ann Heard; son: Mark Anthony Heard. He is survived by his son: Timothy (Vicki) Heard of Rex; brothers: Paul (Kay) Heard of NC and Gerald Heard of OH; sisters: Frances New of Delta, AL and Sue (Nolan) Kent of Warrenton, GA; grandchildren: Joshua (Liz) Heard, Alaina (Daniel) Perkins and Megan (Marshall) Whitley; great grandchildren: Ashlyn Whitley, Reilly Perkins, and Morgan Heard. Funeral services will he held at 12 noon, Saturday, April 24, 2021 in the Chapel of Ford-Stewart Funeral Home with Rev. Berry Kelly officiating. The family will receive friends from 10 AM - 12 PM before the service at the funeral home. Burial will follow at The Rock Baptist Church Cemetery in Rex. In lieu of flowers, memorials can be made to The American Diabetes Association, www.diabetes.org or The American Cancer Society, www.cancer.org in memory of Joel Heard.         Ford-Stewart Funeral Home, Inc., Jonesboro/Stockbridge 770-210-2700. www.fordstewartfuneralhome.com