Janice Sue Hibbard

Janice Sue Hibbard nee Luginbuel

87, most recently of Willowbrook, IL passed away peacefully in hospice care on July 11, 2025. She grew up in Lincoln, AR, and played the trumpet in her high school band. She was a member of the Zeta Tau Alpha sorority at the University of Arkansas where she earned a BA in Music from the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville, and later a Master's Degree in Elementary Education from the University of Central Arkansas. An accomplished alto vocalist, Janice performed with the Schola Cantorium, the University of Arkansas Symphonic Band, various church choirs, and was a member of the Arkansas Chamber Singers who performed during festivities in Washington DC leading up to President Bill Clinton's first Inauguration, an honor she described as "an event of a lifetime". While an undergraduate, she met and married an architecture student, the late William H. (Bill) Hibbard and moved to North Little Rock where they raised a family and where she worked as a music educator and 2nd grade teacher in the North Little Rock school district for over 30 years.

Janice had quite the sense of humor. On Halloween, she used to dress up as the Wicked Witch of the East to the surprise of some her students who were said to be especially well-behaved that day. Janice enjoyed singing for the residents at her retirement home, and tending its community garden. She was especially fond of hydrangeas, pansies, and impatiens. She also loved sipping coffee from Zabar's, spending time with family, and following the Arkansas Razorbacks football and basketball teams. Ever the optimist, after each season, her catch phrase was, "well, there's always next year."

Janice is preceded in death by husband William H. Hibbard and survived by daughter Keri Cazzato and son-in-law Rick Cazzato of Darien, IL; son Robert Hibbard and daughter-in-law Myriam Hibbard of Boston, MA; brother Loyd Wayne Luginbuel and sister-in-law Sharon Luginbuel of Prairie Grove, AR; sister-in-law Mary Greenwaldt and brother-in-law Carroll Greenwaldt of Longview, TX; 7 grandchildren; 2 great-grand children; 6 nieces and nephews; and 12 great-nieces and nephews.

At Janice request scriptures and prayer by Paul Young and Brad Harris were read at the Funeral Home with burial in the Prairie Grove Cemetery.