Obituaries from March 2005

Clarice Dickey (03/01/05)
Clarice Elwanda Girtman Dickey, 83, of Cave City died Feb. 20, 2005, at Cave City Nursing Home. Born July 30, 1921, at Hilltop, Ark., she was the daughter of W.O. "Orville" and Sarah Evelyn Brewer Girtman. She was a homemaker, a Christian and a member of Cave City Church of Christ...

Charles F. Nieman (03/01/05)
Charles F. Nieman 82, of Cave City died Feb. 21, 2005, at Central Arkansas Veterans Healthcare System in Little Rock. Born March 18, 1922, at Batesville, he was the son of Robert Benjamin and Fannie Lee Cummings Nieman. He was a contractor, a U.S. Army veteran and of the Methodist faith...

Dene West (03/01/05)
Dene West, 90, of Strawberry died Feb. 21, 2005, at his home. Born Oct. 24, 1914, in Actna, Ark., in Sharp County, he was the son of William Howard and Mahalia Josephine Howard West. He was a retired farmer and elder of Milligan Campground Cumberland Presbyterian Church...

Glenna Garner (03/01/05)
Glenna Hope Morton Garner, 94, died Feb. 22, 2005, at Ash Flat Nursing and Rehabilitation Center after being ill for several months. Born Sept. 3, 1910, on her family's farm in the Martin Creek Community, she was the daughter of John and Hattie Booth Morton. Her early education was in a one-room school (Oak Grove) located some 2 1/2 miles from her home...

Gertrude May Jones (03/01/05)
Gertrude May Jones, 75, of Ash Flat died Feb. 20, 2005, at her residence. Born March 11, 1929, in Skowhegan, Maine, she was the daughter of William and Mary Lord MacFadzen. She worked many years in the nursing profession for different home health agencies. She moved to Sharp County in 1960 from Connecticut with her family...

Kenneth K. Bettis (03/01/05)
Kenneth K. Bettis, 56, of Highland died Feb.18, 2005, at White River Medical Center in Batesville. Born Aug. 23, 1948, in Williford, he was the son of Clyde Kenneth Bettis and Gladys Marie Hawkins Bettis. He married Joyce Honeycutt Dec. 19, 1967, in Williford. He was an employee of Sharp County Road Department, and attended Lighthouse Baptist Church...

Leone Vera Kobs (03/01/05)
Leone Vera Kobs, 79, of Cherokee Village died Feb. 18, 2005, at White River Medical Center in Batesville. Born Jan. 24, 1926, at Bear Creek, Wis., she was the daughter of Emil Gensler and Elsie Schoenheide Gensler. She was married to Paul Kobs and was a member of the Cherokee Village Lutheran Church. She has been employed as an auto worker at Daimler Chrysler...

Maurice F. Sullivan Sr. (03/01/05)
Maurice F. Sullivan Sr., 81, of Calamine died Feb. 21, 2005, at his home. Born Sept. 8, 1923, in Calamine, he was the son of Brumley and Mary Lee Young Sullivan. He was a farmer, mail carrier and bus driver. He was of the Methodist faith. Survivors include his wife of 62 years, Argie Foster Sullivan of the home; three sons -- Maurice Sullivan Jr., Jerry Sullivan and Gary Sullivan, all of Calamine; a daughter, Wanda Richard of Cheyenne, Wyo.; two grandsons -- Jason Sullivan of Calamine, and Jeremy Sullivan of Monette; seven great-grandchildren; and several nieces and nephews.. ...

Preston Croom (03/01/05)
Preston Croom, 74, of Cave City died Feb. 22, 2005, at his home. Born Sept. 2, 1930, at Strawberry, he was the son of Luther Horace and Dona Rebecca Harger Croom. He was a carpenter and owner of Hilltop Grocery for many years, a U.S. Air Force veteran, having served in the Korean Conflict, and a member of First Missionary Baptist Church in Cave City...

Peggy Jane Carman (03/01/05)
Peggy Jane Carman, 88, died Feb. 22, 2005, at the Eaglecrest Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Ash Flat. Born Jan. 3, 1917, in Cresco, Iowa, she was the daughter of Bertrum Llewellyn and Lydia Carnelia Rowley Perry. She married Eldon Burr Carman June 19, 1935, in Cresco, Iowa, and to this union three sons were born...

Coy Lee Farris (03/10/05)
Coy Lee Farris, 70, of Evening Shade died Feb. 25, 2005, at his home. Born Oct. 21, 1934, at Franklin, he was the son of John and Estel Tadalock Farris. He was a factory worker and member of Piney Fork Church of Christ. Survivors include his wife, Pat Farris of the home; a daughter, Lanette Treadway of Cave City; a stepson, Rob Poetzel of Sullivan, Mo.; four brothers -- Bob Farris of Cave City, Floyd Farris of Batesville, Ted Farris of Sidney, and Eddie Farris of Evening Shade; a sister, Mamie Couch of Nashville, Tenn.; three grandchildren -- Derek Treadway of Cave City, Misty Farris of Cave City, and Jason Farris of Evening Shade; two great-grandchildren -- Hunter Farris and Jadon Farris of Cave City; and nieces and nephews.. ...

Evette L. Marchbanks (03/10/05)
Evette L. Marchbanks, 31, of Evening Shade died Feb. 28, 2005, at White River Medical Center in Batesville. Born April 27, 1973, at Iowa City, Iowa, she was the daughter of Roy and Jo Ann Groenen-boom Walters. She was a homemaker and a member of Calvary Baptist Church of Evening Shade...

Marian L. Marchbanks (03/10/05)
Marian L. Marchbanks, 68, of Evening Shade died Feb. 28, 2005, at White River Medical Center in Batesville. Born Dec. 10, 1936, at Pontiac, Mich., she was the daughter of William and Millie Johnson Mahan. She was a homemaker and a member of Calvary Baptist Church of Evening Shade...

Sylvester Gene Mills (03/10/05)
Sylvester Gene Mills, 49, of Batesville died Feb. 28, 2005, at his home. Born Oct. 6, 1955, at Hughes, he was the son of Allen and Bertha Rankins Mills. He was a member of Cornerstone Baptist Church at Mount Pleasant. Survivors include his wife, Shannon Mills of the home; his mother, Bertha Mills of Forrest City; a son, Michael Mills of Dallas; two daughters -- Takiesa Smith and Tia Smith, both of Batesville; nine brothers -- A.J. ...

Alta Maxine Meador (03/15/05)
Alta Maxine Meador, 72, of Jonesboro died March 7, 2005, at Craighead County Nursing Center. She was born in Huntsville, Ark.. She was of the Baptist belief, a retired CNA, having worked as a home health nurse in Cherokee Village, and was preceded in death by 12 brothers and sisters...

Birdie Guinnip (03/15/05)
Birdie Emmerich Guinnip, 90, of Evening Shade died March 6, 2005, at White River Medical Center in Batesville. Born Jan. 27, 1915, at Williford, she was the daughter of Peter J. and Sarah Ellen Combs Emmerich. She was a homemaker and a member of Calvary Baptist Church at Evening Shade...

Clara Ophelia Wood (03/15/05)
Clara Ophelia Wood, 83, of West Plains, Mo., died Feb. 24, 2005, at Pleasant Valley Manor in West Plains. Born Feb. 23, 1922, in West Plains, Mo., she was the daughter of E. Austin Gray and Ella Lee Manning Gray. She was united in marriage Feb. 22, 1947, in Waterloo, Iowa, to Warren P. Wood, who preceded her in death...

Charles Piper (03/15/05)
Charles Piper, 72, of Cherokee Village died March 6, 2005, at Fulton County Hospital in Salem. Born Aug. 15, 1932, he was the son of Charles W. Piper and Bertha Frost Piper. He was married to Nancy Piper and was an engineer. He served in the U.S. Air Force from June 1951 to June 18, 1955...

Catherine Russell (03/15/05)
Catherine Clarke Russell, 81, died March 10, 2005, at her home. Born June 8, 1923, at Hardy, she was the daughter Edmund Stillman and Mary Rosalie Rudisaile Clarke. She was a member of Saddle Baptist Church, Fulton County Extension Homemakers and Nine Mike Ridge Auxiliary. Her hobbies were making quilts, decorating cakes, making gardens and playing games with her friends and family...

David Lee Cochran (03/15/05)
David Lee Cochran, 72, of Hardy died Feb. 26, 2005, at his resident. Born May 1, 1932, in Sharp County, he was the son of Dale and Ora B. Armstrong Cochran. He married Mary Lou Jones Feb. 4, 1966, in Williford. He worked many years in the construction business...

Fred L. Williams (03/15/05)
Fred L. Williams, 96, of Ash Flat died Feb. 24, 2005, at Eaglecrest Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Ash Flat. Born Oct. 24, 1908, in Vanndale, he was the son of Willie Richard Williams and Allie Cynthia Lattie Williams. He worked many years as a broiler operator for a university. He was a member of First Baptist Church in Ash Flat...

Frank Rose (03/15/05)
Frank Rose, 81, of Cave City died March 7, 2005, at White River Medical Center in Batesville. Born Feb. 7, 1923, at Mobley, Ark., he was the son of James Parkey and Sarah James Rose. He was a U.S. Army veteran of World War II having served in the European Theater. He was a retired auto mechanic and a member and deacon of Bold Springs Missionary Baptist Church near Strawberry...

Francis "Frank" W. Park (03/15/05)
Francis "Frank" W. Park, 80, of Cherokee Village died March 3, 1925, in Ash Flat. Born Feb. 26, 1925, in Petrolia, Ontario, Canada, he was the son of Harvey Edward Park and Garnette Neeves Park. He served his country during World War II in General George Patton's Army, and was in the Battle of the Bulge...

Geneva E. Berry (03/15/05)
Geneva E. Berry, 79, of Harrisburg died March 9, 2005, at St. Bernard's Medical Center in Jonesboro. Born Sept. 1, 1925, in Lorado, Ark., she was the daughter of Emery and Lucy Dennis. She was formerly of Lorado and retired from Frolic Footwear. She was a member of Lorado Baptist Church...

Harriet Edith Denoyer (03/15/05)
Harriet Edith Hackley Denoyer, 85, of Horseshoe Bend died March 6, 2005, at Community Medical Center in Calico Rock. Born Feb. 24, 1920, in Kankakee, Ill., she was the daughter of James and Dora Ebeling Hackley. She married Clarence B. Denoyer in Kankakee June 6, 1946. She was a homemaker and a member of St. Mary of the Mount Catholic Church...

Imogene Gentry Fowler (03/15/05)
Imogene Gentry Fowler, 87, a lifetime resident of Ash Flat, died Feb. 24, 2005, at White River Medical Center in Batesville. Born Feb. 5, 1918, in Ash Flat, she was the daughter of William Harve and Louvena Roberts Estes. She was a homemaker, a technician for Baxter Laboratories of Ash Flat for 15 years and a longtime member of Ash Flat Church of Christ...

James "J.D" Dawson Jr. (03/15/05)
James D. "J.D." Dawson Jr., 86, of Mammoth Spring died March 5, 2005, at White River Medical Center in Batesville. Born April 19, 1918, in Hardy, he was the son of James Dawson Sr. and Cora Hastings Dawson. He was a member of Spring River Baptist Church in Hardy. ...

Juacellia Kakouris (03/15/05)
Juacellia Kakouris, 71, of Jonesboro, formerly of S. Louis, Mo., died Feb. 25, 2005, at St. Bernard's Regional Medical Center in Jonesboro. Born June 11, 1933, at Evening Shade, she was the daughter of Bill and June Graddy Thomas. She was a banquet waitress for Clayton Inn of Clayton, Mo., for many years and was a member of the Affton (Mo.) Church of Christ...

J.K. Crow (03/15/05)
J.K. Crow, 89, of Cave City, died Feb. 28, 2005, at Cave City, Nursing Home. Born Sept. 10, 1915, at Cave City, he was the son of Oliver Verdo and Sarah Junie James Crow. He was a minister, attended Missionary Baptist Institute in Little Rock, Landmark Baptist College in Hayward, Calif., in 1968, was chaplain of Civil Air Patrol in 1978 and chaplain of North Star Co. ...

Judith Theresa Byrd (03/15/05)
Judith Theresa Byrd, 60, of Williford died March 3, 2005, in Jonesboro. Born Sept. 1, 1944, in Falmouth, Mich., she was the daughter of Earl and Alice Dowland. She married Eric Goff. She later married Sherman Eugene Byrd in Jonesboro on July 9, 1983. He preceded her in death Nov. 7, 2003...

James Verlin Jones (03/15/05)
James Verlin Jones, 96, died March 8, 2005, in Crosby, Mo. He was residing in Crosby where he had been cared for by his daughter, Doris, for the past six years. Born Aug. 25, 1908, he was the son of Ernest and Evoria Sears Jones in Wild Cherry, Ark. ...

Lillian Irene McWilliams (03/15/05)
Lillian Irene McWilliams, 93, of Cherokee Village died Feb. 25, 2005, at her residence. Born Feb. 3, 1912, in Leroy, Ill., she was the daughter of William and Della Brittin Bremer. She worked many years as a clerk for the United States Postal Service before retiring and moving to Cherokee Village in 1971 with her husband, Bryce McWilliams. ...

Leonard Joseph DeBolt (03/15/05)
Leonard Joseph DeBolt, 75, of Horseshoe Bend died Feb. 24, 2005, at his home. Born May 16, 1929, in Champaign, Ill., he was the son of John William and Edith Leone Palmer DeBolt. He worked as an accountant for Riceland Foods. He was a member of the Moose Lodge, and American Legion...

Maurice C. Willis (03/15/05)
Maurice C. Willis, 82, of Ravenden died Feb. 25, 2005, at Randolph County Medical Center in Pocahontas. The funeral arrangements are incomplete and will be announced at a later date by Higginbotham Funeral Service of Hardy.

Opal Smythe (03/15/05)
Opal Smythe, 94, of Jonesboro died March 4, 2005, at St. Bernard's Medical Center in Jonesboro. Born Sept. 8, 1910, near Sidney, she was the daughter of James and Ada McKee Huddleston. She was a member of Sidney Baptist Church, a homemaker, a retired telephone operator for Southwestern Bell Telephone Company, a life member of the Telephone Pioneers of America and a member of the Sidney Exten-sion Homemaker Club...

Raleigh H. Emery II (03/15/05)
Raleigh H. Emery II, 87, of Herndon, Va., died Feb. 26, 2005, at White River Medical Center in Batesville. Born Jan. 14, 1918, at Harrison, he was the son of Raleigh Herbert Emery Sr. and Virginia Estes Emery. He was a U.S. Army Air Corps and Air Force veteran, having served in the Pacific during World War II. He was a retired electrical engineer, a devoted sports enthusist and athlete, a charter member of the Herndon Optimist Club and member of St. Joseph's Catholic Church in Herndon, Va...

Robbie Mae Johnson (03/15/05)
Robbie Mae Johnson, 95, of Evening Shade died March 5, 2005, at Fulton County Hospital in Salem. Born March 16, 1909, at Sidney, she was the daughter of John Clark and Laura Nisa Thornton Reed. She was a homemaker and of the Church of Christ faith. Survivors include a son, James Walter Johnson of Evening Shade; two stepsons -- Olen Johnson of Smithville, and Pete Johnson of Racine, Wis.; two daughters -- Peggy Reed and Norma Sue Johnson, both of Evening Shade; a stepdaughter, Edra Storey of Racine; and several nieces and nephews.. ...

William Aubry (03/15/05)
William Lawrence Aubry, 88, of Cherokee Village died March 4, 2005, in St. Vincent's in Little Rock. Born in Moline, Ill., he was the son of John W. and Mary Ellen McKinney Aubry. He married Mary Virginia Lee Sept. 26, 1940, in Moline. He worked for International Harvester in Moline as an IBM Programmer until retiring 28 years ago and moving to Cherokee Village. ...

Wallace J. Stanley (03/15/05)
Wallace J. Stanley, 85, of Gilmer, Texas, died Feb. 21, 2005. He was the father of the the Rev. Jack Stanley of Highland, and grandfather of the Rev. Mike Stanley, pastor of the Friendship Baptist Church of Highland. Born in Pritchett, Texas, Dec. 8, 1919, Stanley was the son of Jack and Willie Stanley...

Walter Willie Knotts (03/15/05)
Walter Willie Knotts, 66, of Hardy died March 4, 2005, at Baxter County Regional Hospital in Mountain Home. Born Dec. 30, 1938, in Granfton, W.Va., he was the son of Opal McDaniel Knotts and Leoanrd Knotts. He was employed at Caterpillar Inc., as an inspector. He was a member of Spring River Baptist Church of Hardy; and was a former volunteer fireman for the Wirth Fire Department...