6/25/2008
Frank Johnson, 80, a resident of Russellville, formerly of Clarksville, died Tuesday, June 17, 2008, at his home.
He was born July 16, 1927, in Elk City, Oklahoma to Leslie and Adeline Beulah Norwood Johnson. His passion was photography. He was the owner of Frank and Katie Johnson Photography in Tulsa, Oklahoma for 10 years and later in Clarksville for 20 years. He was a member of the Russellville Christian Center and was a United States Navy veteran. He was preceded in death by his parents and a daughter, Michele Asya.
Survivors include his wife of 35 years, Katie Johnson of Russellville; two sons and a daughter-in-law, Rick and Gwen Johnson of Tulsa and Scott West of Bigelow; four daughters and a son-in-law, Janie Lynch of Bigelow, Judy and Jon Doshier of Mannford, Oklahoma, Audry Collins of Jonesboro, and Ginny Johnson of Naples, Florida; two brothers, Phil Johnson of Stevensons Ranch, California and Gayle Johnson of Valencia, California; 13 grandchildren; and six great grandchildren.
The funeral will be held at 2 p.m. on Friday, June 20, 2008, at the Russellville Christian Center with the Rev. Tom Underhill and the Rev. Justin Carmody officiating. Private burial will be in Shady Grove Cemetery near Clarksville. Arrangements are under the direction of Shinn Funeral Service.
Pallbearers will be Craig Hagerty, Charlie Manns, Ken Guston, Jim Alexander, Jack Jenkins, and Brad Mills.
Visitation will be from 6 – 8 p.m. on Thursday, at the funeral home.
Memorials may be made to Pope County Health Department Hospice, 404 North El Paso Avenue, Russellville, Arkansas 72801.
Cathern Marie Wilkins, 84, of North Little Rock died Wednesday, June 18, 2008.
A native of Hartman, she was a daughter of the late John and Lucy Hampton Laster, member of First Baptist Church in Sherwood, retired general manager of the North Little Rock Electric Department after 33 years of service with the city, and was preceded in death by her husband of 55 years, Aubrey Wilkins; infant daughter, Norma Jean Wilkins; one brother, Norman Laster; and one sister, Dorothy Forsyth.
Survivors include two daughters, Carolyn (Toney) Abbott and Janet (Steve) Holmes of Cabot; one son, Steven (Charmaine) Wilkins of Kingwood, Texas; two sisters, Cookie Brown of Benton and Ann Hines of Sherwood; three sisters-in-law, Lois Laster of Kansas, Margie Herman of California, and Emmy Dunlap of Texas; 12 grandchildren; 16 great-grandchildren; one great-great-grandchild; and numerous nieces and nephews.
Funeral was at 10 a.m. Saturday, June 21, at First Baptist Church in Sherwood with burial in Sumner Cemetery under the direction of North Little Rock Funeral Home.
Johnny Doyle Bullock, 74, of Scranton died Wednesday, June 18, 2008, at his home.
He was a native of Texas, machine technician, son of the late Doyle and Emma Martin Bullock, and was preceded in death by one daughter, Cynthia A. Bullock; and one son, Johnny D. Bullock Jr.
Survivors include three daughters, Beth Chambless of Scranton, Lenell Beeman of Clarksville, and Sandra Kittley of Texas; one sister, Charlotte Schrader of Texas; two brothers, Paul Lindsay and Robert Lindsay, both of Texas; six grandchildren; and five great-grandchildren.
Graveside services and burial were at 10 a.m. Monday, June 23, at Oakland Cemetery with Robert and Paul Lindsay officiating. Arrangements were under the direction of Roller-Cox Funeral Home.
Robert L. (Bob) Truitt, 67, of Oklahoma City, Okla., uncle of Nancy Wood of Clarksville, died Saturday, June 14, 2008, in Austin, Texas.
He was a native of Van Buren, son of the late Lawrence and Ruth McCrite Truitt, former resident of Ozark, served as a medic in the U. S. Navy, retired mechanical engineering tech from C. H. Guernsey and Company in Oklahoma City, Okla., and member of the OKC Chapter of Harley Owners Group and OK Mini Cooper Car Club.
Survivors include his former wife, Karyl Lee of Oklahoma City, Okla.; two sisters, Sharon Swaim and husband, Buel, of Ozark and Jeannie Means and husband, Gary, of Fort Smith; three nephews, Michael Swaim of Ozark, Eric Means of Washington, D. C., and Brad Means of Russellville; one great-niece, Sydney Wood of Clarksville; and two great-nephews, Will Swaim of Russellville and Winston Swaim of Ozark.
Funeral was at 2 p.m. Thursday, June 19, at Shaffer Funeral Home Chapel in Ozark with Rev. Ted Darling officiating. Burial was in Highland Cemetery at Ozark.
Pallbearers were Bill Robinson, Ron Brewster, Brent Tininenko, Mike Swaim, Winston Swaim, Will Swaim, Eric Means, and Brad Means.
Honorary pallbearers were the OKC Chapter of Harley Owners Group and OK Mini Cooper Car Club.
Memorials may be made to the Muscular Dystrophy Association Poker Run, 5601 NW 72nd Street, Suite 124, Oklahoma City, OK 73132.
Beulah Priscilla Wyrick Riley, 76, of Van Buren died Wednesday, June 18, 2008, at Sparks Regional Medical Center in Fort Smith.
She was a native of Hartman, daughter of the late Huie Wesley and Ida Mae Barber Wyrick, widow of George Alfred Riley, and retired employee of Hickory Springs Manufacturing in Fort Smith.
She is survived by two daughters, Jeanie Christianson and Jackie Riley, both of Van Buren; one son, Bill Riley of Van Buren; one sister, Hallie Taylor of Van Buren; one brother, Allen Wyrick of Amboy, Ill.; seven grandchildren; seven great-grandchildren; and numerous nieces and nephews.
A graveside memorial service was held at 10 a.m. Monday, June 23, at the Hartman Cemetery with Wayne K. Hoclcel officiating. The body was cremated.
Local arrangements were under the direction of Roller-Cox Funeral Home.
Charles Ray Harmon Sr., 42, of Lamar died Tuesday, June 17, 2008, at Johnson Regional Medical Center.
He was a member of the Holman Freewill Baptist Church, native of Ozark, and was preceded in death by grandparents, Pauline and Clifford Harmon and Mary and Clint Palmer.
Survivors include his wife, Mindy Sue Gauthier Harmon; two daughters, Mackenzie Ann Harmon of Lamar and Charlotte Rose Harmon of the home; two sons, Charles Ray Harmon Jr. of Knoxville and Zachary Crider of the home; parents, Thomas Ray Harmon of Hagarville and Alice Florence Harmon of Lamar; one sister, Laura Ann Harmon Lemon of Knoxville; one brother, Darren Gene Harmon of Lamar; and one nephew, Zane Lemon of Knoxville.
Funeral was at 10 a.m. Saturday, June 21, at Roller-Cox Funeral Home Chapel with Rev. Geno Johnston officiating. Burial was in Holman Cemetery.
Active pallbearers were Justin Craig, Martin Boen, Tony Holman, Rodney Palmer, Keith McCarley, John Belcher, Bill Bavis, and Jeff Garrison.
Honorary pallbearers were Charles Ray Harmon Jr., Zachary Crider, Zane Lemon, Charlotte Rose Harmon, Mackenzie Harmon, and family and friends.
Peggy Lou Owen, 74, of Clarksville died Friday, June 20, 2008, at Johnson Regional Medical Center.
She was the widow of Stanley Owen, member of Twin Oaks Baptist Church, and was preceded in death by her mother, Pearl Bray; and grandson, Aaron Owen.
Survivors include three daughters, Robin Fuller and husband, Rod, of Waldron, Rhonda Harvey and husband, Jon, of Fort Smith and Risa Oglesby and husband, Tommy, of Mount Pleasant, Texas; four sons, Roger Owen and wife, Tammy, of Alma, Randall Owen of Fort Smith, Richard Owen of Mount Pleasant, Texas, and Ronald Owen and wife, Christy, of Clarksville; one sister, JoAnn Lovett of Fort Smith; 23 grandchildren; nine great-grandchildren; and numerous nieces and nephews.
Funeral was at 10 a.m. Monday, June 23, at Twin Oaks Baptist Church with Rev. Ron Owen and Rev. Roger Owen officiating.
Burial was Tuesday, June 24, at the National Cemetery in Fort Smith under the direction of Hardwicke Funeral Home.
Pallbearers were Luke Oglesby, Joseph Owen, John Owen, Joel Owen, Dustin Owen, Lance Owen, Jeremy Owen, and Lincoln Oglesby.
Vergil Clitis Cowan, 77, of Oark died Wednesday, June 18, 2008, at his home.
He was a native of Swain, son of the late Claud and Marvie Thomas Cowan, bridge builder, veteran of the Korean War, and preceded in death by one sister, Opal Thomas; and one brother, Haskell Cowan.
Survivors include his wife, Margie Mae Ellis Cowan; three daughters, Vicky Cowan and Anita Cowan, both of Oark, and Donna Cowan of Clarksville; one son, Mike Cowan of Oark; three sisters, Irma Lee Hill of Oark, Juanita Hardin of Clarksville, and Corine Benn of Wichita, Kan.; and one grandchild, Cody Butler of Clarksville.
Funeral was at 2 p.m. Saturday, June 21, at Roller-Cox Funeral Home Chapel with Utshie Martin and Harley McGuire officiating. Burial was in Sherman Cemetery.
Beuna Irene Davis, 89, of Lamar died Tuesday, June 17, 2008, at Clarksville Convalescent Home.
She was a native of Lamar, daughter of the late James and Rosa Hudspeth Evans; attended Lighthouse Christian Center, and was preceded in death by two brothers and nine sisters.
She is survived by three daughters, Betty Dodge of Lamar, Wanda Riggs of Lead Hill and Shirley Sullivan of Benton, La.; five grandchildren, Charlotte Jaquet of Jackson, Tenn., Michael Dodge of Lamar, Steve Riggs of Flippin, and Christopher Sullivan and Bryan Sullivan, both of Benton, La.; and five great-grandchildren, Anna Sullivan, Logan Sullivan, Corrina Riggs, Hannah Davis and Adrian Swofford.
Funeral was at 2 p.m. Friday, June 20, at Roller-Cox Funeral Home Chapel with Pastor William Hickman officiating. Burial was in Lamar Cemetery.
Active pallbearers were Michael Dodge, Steve Riggs, Christopher Sullivan, James Ray Lemons, Charles Holt and Freddie Freeman.
Honorary pallbearer was Bryan Sullivan.
Robert Earl Bryan, 85, of Clarksville died Sunday, June 22, 2008, at his home.
He was a son of the late Darious and Anna Overstreet Bryan, painter and wall paper hanger, and retired in 1973 as a contractor in California after which time he returned to Arkansas where he raised polled Hereford cattle and Tennessee walking horses. He was preceded in death by one brother, James Bryan.
Survivors include his wife, Connie Fergurson Bryan; one daughter, Joyce Ann Bryan of Napa Valley, Calif.; one son, Robert Darious Bryan of Knoxville; one brother, Donald Bryan of Crestfield, Fla.; three grandchildren; and nine great-grandchildren.
A memorial service will be held at 10 a.m. Friday, June 27, at Roller-Cox Funeral Home Chapel. The body will be cremated.
Virginia Echols Shiras, aged 90, of Clarksville, widow of Pete Shiras, died Friday, June 20, 2008.
Born at Monticello on February 26, 1918, she was the daughter of James and Eva Peterson Echols. She is survived by two daughters, Ginger Shiras of Berryville and Kathy Hickey and her husband, Joe, of Clarksville, and two grandchildren, Jody Hickey, his wife, Shannon, and their son, Charlie, of Denver, Colo., and Ginger Mills, her husband, Todd, and their daughter, Lainey, of Cabot.
Other survivors include three brothers, Tommy Echols of Canal Fulton, Ohio, Norman Echols of Sacramento, Calif., and Dr. Robert Echols of San Angelo, Texas, and three sisters, Katherine Barger of Montgomery, Texas, Harriet Woodell of San Angelo, Texas, and Loraine Newman of Conway.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Charles Peter Shiras; a sister, Cornelia Posey; a brother, James Echols; and a great-granddaughter, Madeline Hickey.
She was a graduate of Southeast Missouri State University at Cape Girardeau, Mo., and the University of Central Arkansas at Conway, and held a master’s degree from Scarritt Methodist College in Nashville, Tenn.
She was commissioned to be a missionary to mainland China but the Communist takeover occurred while she was in language school at the University of California at Berkeley.
After teaching in the Mountain Home schools for 18 years, she became a registered nurse and later worked on the Mescalero Apache Indian Reservation in New Mexico along with her husband, who had retired as a publisher and editor of the family newspaper, The Baxter Bulletin.
They returned to Little Rock to do volunteer work with the Salvation Army. She also worked as a nurse at the Baptist and VA hospitals in Little Rock, and later worked at the Arkansas Department of Health for 22 years, first as a medical reviewer in the home health program and later as a newspaper columnist on aging topics.
In 1967 she made a study trip around the world with a National Education Association group, and she went to China in 1984 on a World Health Organization fellowship to study and write a report on aging and health care resources.
In Little Rock, she had been active in Oak Forest United Methodist Church and Lakeshore Drive Baptist Church. She also participated in the interdenominational Bible Study Fellowship for several years. She was a member of the former Little Rock Woman’s City Club and several other organizations and sang in the Arkansas Choral Society’s annual presentation of Handel’s Messiah for several years.
She moved to Clarksville in 2006, and was a member of First Baptist Church of Clarksville.
Funeral was at 3 p.m. Monday, June 23, at First Baptist Church of Clarksville with Rev. Darrell Bridges officiating. A graveside service was held at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday, June 24, at the Mountain Home Cemetery with Rev. Dickie Boyles officiating. Arrangements were under the direction of Roller-Cox Funeral Home.
Memorials may be made to the church or charity of the donor’s choice.
Lela Merle Beasley died June 1, 2008, in Coeur d’ Alene, Idaho at the age of 91. She was born Oct. 11, 1915, in Mt. Levi, Arkansas to Steven Douglas and Lucy Belle Smith Flent. She was preceded in death by her parents, brother, Clemon Flent; sisters,,Estele Warren, Dewell Hall, Edyth Foshee; a son, Ronnie Chambliss; a daughter, Betty Sue Chambliss Paulson; grandson, Philip Paulson; and husbands, Leroy Chambliss and Quinton Beasley.
She is survived by a son, Roy Chambliss of Athol, Idaho; a daughter, Geraldine Camp of Lodi, Calif.; two sisters, Opal Alexander of Florida and Lorene Biggs of Florida.; six grandchildren, six great-grandchildren and two great-great-grandchildren; two step daughters, DeMona Reeves of Ozark, Juanita Dickerson of Clarksville, seven stepgrandchildren and several stepgreat-grandchildren; nephews, Doyle Biggs of Colorado, Doug Biggs of Indiana, J. D. Hall of Indiana, Kenneth Foshee of Morrilton, Ark., Paul Foshee of Atkins, Ark.; and a niece, Mary Young of Branson, Mo.
Lela was of the Baptist faith and her Bible was always near her. She had a green thumb, always had a yard full of flowers in bloom and loved to crochet and fish.
A private burial service was held by members of the family June 17, 2008, at Rosetta Cemetery where Lela joined her deceased family in eternal sleep in the mountains she loved.
Memorials may be made to the Rosetta Cemetery, % Glenn Warren, 623 Leisure Loop, Ozark, AR 72949.
