Vicki Rene Ethredge Pepper, 67, El Dorado, Arkansas, passed away on December 15, 2022, in Aurora, Illinois, after a brief illness. Vicki was born in El Dorado on September 24, 1955, to Leon and Sue Ethredge of Junction City, Arkansas.
She was preceded in death by her parents and brother-in-law, Ricky Greene.
Those left to cherish her memory include Bruce Pepper, her high school sweetheart, and husband of 48 years; her son, Ryan Pepper of Bernice, Louisiana; and her daughter, Amy (Jeff) Hough of Little Rock, Arkansas. She was a beloved “KiKi” to four beautiful grandchildren, Henry, Jack, Caroline, and Ford Hough that provided great joy in her life. She is also survived by a brother, David (Susan) Ethredge, of Mountain Home, Arkansas; and sisters, Ann (David) McDaniel of Belcher, Louisiana, and Mary (Billy) Kennedy of Wichita, Kansas, along with numerous nieces and nephews who adored their Aunt Vicki and whom she loved as her own children.
After graduation from Junction City High School, Vicki received bachelor's, master's, and +30 degrees from Louisiana Tech University. During college, she married the love of her life, Bruce Pepper, and they began their life journey together.
After graduation, Vicki worked in the Union Parish School System in Farmerville, Louisiana, as a special education teacher and later in special education assessment. After a few years she moved on to what she saw as a more important assignment, raising Ryan and Amy. She excelled at both of these assignments. After living in Farmerville for 10 years, Vicki and Bruce moved back home to El Dorado, Arkansas. Shortly after the move, Vicki took on her next big assignment as children’s minister at Immanuel Baptist Church in El Dorado. During this time she was mentored by her good friend Ben Wasson, who encouraged her to get outside her comfort zone to better serve Christ. These lessons would be instrumental during her tenure at Immanuel as well as at her next assignment as she loved the hundreds of children God brought into her path as though they were her own.
Her greatest joy was being the hands and feet of Jesus with whomever she came in contact, whether that be a child in a backyard Bible club, a homeless person on the streets of New Orleans, or a clerk checking out her groceries. She wanted to know their story and she wanted them to know her Jesus.
In 1994, her heart was captured by the ministry of Operation Christmas Child and her involvement began as an area volunteer coordinator. During the next 20 years, she made it her passion to make OCC a thriving mission of the local churches in south Arkansas, encouraging everyone she encountered to build a shoebox. In 2015, she felt God call her to full-time ministry on staff with Samaritan's Purse Operation Christmas Child. This would be her most challenging assignment, filled with great spiritual and personal growth as she built relationships globally with amazing men and women of God, all with the shared goal of reaching every child in every nation for the Kingdom.
She leaves behind an incredible legacy and a family who grieves the loss of our extraordinary wife, mother, and sister. If only she had been ordinary, then our loss would not be so great.
Vicki’s visitation will be held at Immanuel Baptist Church on December 22, 2022, at 9:30 a.m., followed by a service celebrating her life and ministry at 11:00 a.m. The service will be officiated by her good friends and colleagues Todd Edwards of Murfreesboro, Tennessee, and the Rev. Ken Wilson of Conway, Arkansas.
Special thanks to Perry’s Funeral Chapel for their assistance with Vicki’s service.
*All obituaries are submitted by family and friends of the deceased.
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