Anna Claire Boyd Zawislak

Anna Claire Boyd Zawislak, age 75, passed gently away on the morning of July 7, 2020, in the presence of loving family. Born in Jal, New Mexico, on November 9, 1944, the third of ten children, she grew up in Kermit, Texas. She graduated salutatorian from Kermit High in 1963 and earned a degree in art education from the University of Dallas in 1967. While teaching elementary school in Dallas, she met and married Albert M. Zawislak, with whom she shared the next half century. The couple relocated to Little Rock, where they raised two children and she continued teaching art at Mount Saint Mary Academy. After moving to Conway, into a home they built largely by themselves, she worked with the Little Rock school system and then the Arkansas Arts Center as the volunteer coordinator for numerous events. They retired to Fayetteville in 2005, where she remained an active member of St. Joseph Catholic Church. Always a creative, intellectual, and faith-filled woman, she was the spiritual leader in her family. She prayed daily rosaries with her mother and three sisters, and read bible stories to her children and grandchildren. As well a devoted wife and loving mother, Anna Claire was an avid reader, outstanding gardener, inspired cook, accomplished seamstress, and a gifted artist with a multitude of media. Always smiling and laughing, she shared her joy and passion for creativity with many people. In recent years she became an award-winning quilter, using her sense of design and color to create true masterpieces that told unique stories. She also used her talents to complete quilts started by her grandmother and mother to preserve family history. She was ever busy with countless projects, but always made time for friends and family. Anna Claire was preceded in death by her parents, Hermon and Lenora Teichmann Boyd, and by her sisters, Margaret Boyd and Patrice Boyd Dean. She is survived by her husband, Albert M. Zawislak; daughter Jan Zawislak Miller and husband Mark; son, Jon Zawislak and wife Vera; and 13 grandchildren. Surviving siblings include Cecilia Ashley and husband Raymond, Michael Boyd and wife Barbara, Charles Boyd and wife Ann, Alan Boyd and wife Cathy, Mark Boyd and wife Sherry, Alfred Boyd and wife Martha, Jennifer Latimer and husband Bruce, brother-in-law Ralph Dean and wife Martha, as well as many nieces and nephews. Friends and family are invited to attend a celebration of her life on Friday, July 10, 2020, at St. Joseph Catholic Church, 1722 Starr Drive, Fayetteville, Arkansas. A rosary will be said at 9:30 a.m. with a funeral mass to follow at 10:00 a.m. Her ashes will be interred at a later date at the Dodson Prairie family cemetery, in her home state of Texas. Arrangements by Beard's Funeral Chapel. Condolences at www.beardsfuneralchapel.com.