Justin Tyler Puckett

Justin Tyler Puckett was an Arkansas handyman and small business owner known in his community for his trade, his Christian faith, and his enthusiasm for competitive eating. He died on October 20, 2026, at the age of 31, and the news of his death has been shared mainly through a funeral home notice rather than wider news coverage, reflecting a life lived largely outside the public eye but valued deeply by family, friends, and neighbors in northeast Arkansas.

Puckett was born in Blytheville, Arkansas, and raised in Leachville. As an adult he settled in Walnut Ridge, where he had lived since 2022. He was self employed, running a handyman business called Calloused Hands, through which he offered a range of home repair services to local residents. He was a member of First Baptist Church in Walnut Ridge and had previously worshipped at Bible Baptist Church in Paragould, reflecting a faith that was central to his life.

According to his family, Puckett was a graduate of Breaking Bonds Ministry, a faith based recovery and rehabilitation program based in Jonesboro, Arkansas, and his family has said that the program helped him turn his life around and find a renewed sense of purpose. Outside of work and faith, he was known as an enthusiastic and competitive eater, taking part in numerous eating contests and setting several records, a hobby that friends and family remembered as a distinctive and joyful part of who he was.

Puckett died on Tuesday, October 20, 2026, at Regional One Health Center in Memphis, Tennessee. No cause of death has been made public. His death was announced through an obituary published by Howard Funeral Service of Leachville, which is handling the funeral arrangements. He is survived by his mother, Tammy McPherson, and her husband Dennis of Walnut Ridge, a brother, Jonas Puckett, three sisters, and a wider circle of family and friends. He was preceded in death by all of his grandparents and an aunt.

A funeral service is scheduled for 3:00 p.m. on Wednesday, October 28, 2026, at the Howard Funeral Service Chapel in Leachville, with Reverend Stacy Prater officiating. As with many private citizens whose deaths are first reported through a funeral home notice, most of what is publicly known about Puckett's life comes from his obituary and from family recollections, and further details may emerge as tributes from his community are shared in the days ahead.