Jerl Leon Cato

Jerl Leon Cato, 69, of Greenbrier passed away peacefully and surrounded by his wife and family at Conway Regional Hospital on Wednesday, September 10, 2025. He was born in Kingman, Kansas on March 19, 1956.

Jerl Met and married the love of his life, Pam Johnson while still in their teens. They were blessed with celebrating their 52nd wedding anniversary earlier this year. Jerl grew up to be incredibly kind, fiercely loyal and one of the best storytellers of his life events you could ever meet. In 1985, while still in his twenties, Jerl and Pam embarked on a daring journey to start their own company, Asphalt Pavers, Inc in Conway, AR. He would put the next 35 years into taking that dream and turning it into a fully successful business that he was able to pass on to his two sons in 2019, giving them an opportunity to continue his dream of generational security for themselves and their families.

He was very proud of this achievement and the wealth of true friends he acquired through his work. As proud as he was of his two sons, his greatest joy came from being a grandpa to Destiny and Dawson. He shared many stories of the time he has with them and the shared love of hunting, fishing and fun times at the lake and river with them. Jerl was proud of every achievement they reached and took every opportunity to share these stories with family and friends. He has many hobbies such as hunting (and we all know about the scary yet hilarious story about his encounter with the bear), fishing (and the time he almost drown at his own boat dock on the Red River when he fell in when the dam was generating power) and his love of motorcycle (which included many local and out of state trips with his riding buddies (and let's not forget the trip they took to the country of Italy and when he made some type of wrong move in the roundabout thee fine per the local police was “all the cash he had”) No matter where he went, he always came home with a story we couldn’t wait to hear! But through every day was an adventure, he found the greatest joy when surrounded by his family and friends. Jerl was a man’s man, he valued hard work, honesty, and the value of a man’s word. He brought great comfort to his family when he confessed his faith in the Lord and assured us all he was ready to be received in paradise.

Jerl is survived by his wife, Pam, his sons Craig (Sonya) Cato of Greenbrier, Justin Cato of Conway; granddaughter, Destiny Cato of Conway; grandson, Dawson Cato of Greenbrier; mother-in-law, Mary Johnson; sisters, Kathy Jones, Joanie Mahan, Polly Miller; sisters-in-law, Jane Gilliam, Pat Richardson, Joyce Clark along with numerous nieces and nephews.

Jerl was preceded in death by his father-in-law, Chester Johnson; parents, Calvin and Flossie Cato; sister, Mary Jane Huett Hardy; brother, Darrell Cato; two nieces, Shannon Sample and Lisa Huett Martin; one nephew, Kevin Dino Huett.

Celebration of life will be held at 11:00am on Saturday, September 13, 2025, at Wilcox Family Funeral Home with visitation one hour prior.