Mr. Anthony Joel McCrillis

Anthony Joel McCrillis, born November 17, 1986, left this world to be with his Savior sometime on Friday September 17, 2021. Visitation will be held at Hickory Ridge Baptist Church in Florence, MS on Sunday, October 3, 2021 from 1:30 p.m. until the hour of the service at 2:30 p.m. Memorials may be made to Covenant Recovery, 3201 W. Pullen Ave. Pine Bluff, AR 71601. He is survived by his parents, Joe and Angie McCrillis; his brothers, Ashley and Phillip; his nephew, Reed McCrillis; sister-in-law, Amber McCrillis; nephew, Landon; and nieces, Ainsleigh and Makaleigh. Joel grew up in Byram and attended Hillcrest Christian School. He was one of the youngest enrolled at The Art Institute of Atlanta when he was just 17. Joel was in Teen Challenge Pensacola and after graduation, he resided in Pensacola for about 10 years. He was an excellent artist and could do most anything with his hands. He liked working on cars and while in Florida, he was into buying and flipping cars. Joel’s life circumstances took him a lot of places. Friends remember him as a funny person who liked people to laugh and he was never one to hold in any aspect of life good or bad. He loved animals and he always had pets. His favorite was Wishbone dog, his Jack Russell Terrier. She went everywhere with Joel, even skateboarding and swimming. He was a very loving and compassionate person who liked helping people and he always gravitated to older folks and the homeless. One of his adventures, as he liked to call it, lead him to a stay in prison in Texas. I always said jail and he would say “Mom, call it what it was--it was prison”. He lead Bible Studies there and if having me call friend’s parents to give messages to them was possible, that’s what he would have me to do. His last year of Life was spent at Covenant Recovery in Pine Bluff, Arkansas. He had sought out help for himself and a friend helped make it happen. Joel graduated the program in May 2021 and he stayed there after, long enough to save money for a car and to move back to Mississippi to be with his brothers. He moved home Labor Day weekend and enjoyed the last 2 1/2 weeks doing just that. We love you Joel and you will be missed by everyone who knew you. We know you are in Heaven with family and we long for the day when we will all be together again.