Lloyd A Ponder

Lloyd Arden Ponder, aged 102 years, left this earth on November 15, 2023. He lived his life as an example for others and loved his Lord Almighty. He was a true southern gentleman through-and-through, the epitome of a good man.

Lloyd was born on October 12, 1921, in Pleasant Hill, Louisiana and was preceded in death by his parents, Nonie Blanche Phillips Ponder and Amos Lee Ponder; and three brothers, A.L, Wayne and Terry.

He is survived by his wife of seventy-three years, Joyce Lynn Wiggins Ponder; his daughter, Anne Ponder Kilpatrick of Natchitoches, LA, and son, Lee Ponder of Arlington, TX, granddaughter, Melody Vandivere (Chris), great-granddaughter, Rebecca of Highlands Ranch, CO; grandson Josh Ponder (Elaine), great-granddaughters, Samantha and Kassidy of Round Rock, TX; brother Leonard Ponder (Linda) of Bryan, TX along with numerous special nieces and nephews.

Lloyd lived a full and loving, family-filled upbringing as the eldest brother of five. He shared a life of ministry and honor with his
many friends and family, growing up picking cotton on his uncle’s farm and tinkering with his cousins on a Model T Ford. He never lost that love of mechanics.

Lloyd enlisted in the Army Air Corp and served in World War II as an aircraft mechanic in 27th Bombardment Group. Sent to the Philippine Islands a week before the attack on Pearl Harbor, he was captured on Corregidor and held as a POW for over three years in the Philippines and Nagoya, Japan.  After returning home from the war, he worked as a carpenter in residential construction, attended college on the GI bill and met his future wife, Joyce.

He was active in the First Baptist Church as a deacon and Sunday School teacher for many years. He also served in numerous civic, professional and veteran’s organizations.

A childhood dream became a reality when he purchased a small Cessna with three other men in the community. He continued to fly until he felt he was too old and then gave it up. He quit driving with the same decisive grace. He had an innate sense of the seasons of life. Lloyd retired as Director of the Vocational- Technical School in Natchitoches in 1980.

There will be a private family service in Spring Ridge, LA. Remember Lloyd as you once knew him, as we will: A true Christian gentleman, genuinely modest, with a gentle nature, self- effacing, generous, completely loyal, humble, and full of great kindness.