Brenda Jo (Vermillion) Howard, 53, Yellville, Arkansas, died Tuesday, January 21, 2014 in Mountain Home, Arkansas. Funeral services will be held at 1:30 p.m. Friday, January 24 at the Atkinson Funeral Home in Harrisonville, Missouri with visitation from 12:00 noon – 1:30 p.m. Burial will be in Virginia Cemetery, Virginia, Missouri. Memorial contributions may be made to the family.

Brenda was born August 25, 1960 in Butler, Missouri, the daughter of James and Betty Jo (Howe) Vermillion. She was a 1978 graduate of Harrisonville High School and received a business degree from the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville, Arkansas.

Brenda had lived in Arkansas for most of her adult life. She worked for Zachry Construction in Texas for 10 years before moving to Houston, Texas where she managed a Conoco Station for several years. Brenda moved back to Harrisonville in 2003 and worked for Integra Home Care for two years. She then moved to Lead Hill, Arkansas where she lived her dream of owning and managing a smoke shop and used furniture store for four years. Due to her health, she had to close the shop a year ago. Brenda married Howard Whitely in 1980 and to this union she had one son, Lee and one daughter, Susie. On December 29, 2000, she married Robert Howard, the love of her life.

Brenda was preceded in death by her father, her grandmothers, uncles and aunts. She is survived by her husband, Robert, of the home; one son, Lee Whitely and his wife, Whitney, Lead Hill, Arkansas; one daughter, Susie Hallmark of Alabama; her mother and stepfather, Betty and Johnnie Reynolds, Harrisonville, Missouri; 2 grandchildren, Ashten and Forrest and other relatives and friends.