Biographical And Historical Memoirs of Pulaski, Jefferson, Lonoke, Faulkner, Grant, Saline, Perry, Garland And Hot Spring Counties, Arkansas
Thyda Dix
SAN DIMAS, Calif. - Thyda R. Dix, 88, of San Dimas, Calif., died Saturday, Feb. 28, 2009, in a San Dimas retirement home.
She was born Jan. 1, 1921, in Newark. She lived in Joplin, Mo., from 1977 to 1998, when she moved to California. She was an elementary schoolteacher, having taught for 10 years in Newport. She was a member of the Church of Christ.
Survivors include two sons, Michael Dix of Brea, Calif., and Robert Dix of San Dimas; a brother, Jim Rutledge of Batesville; and three grandchildren.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Joseph W. Dix.
Rexel Davis
SALADO - Rexel Davis, 75 of Salado died Tuesday, March 3, 2009, in a Little Rock hospital.
Arrangements will be announced by Willis Funeral Service of Batesville.
Bonnie Steward
GREENWOOD - Bonnie Steward, 72, of Greenwood died Tuesday, March 3, 2009, at her home.
She was a homemaker and a member of Faith Lutheran Church in Booneville.
Survivors include her husband, Maurice Steward; a son, Carl Steward of Oklahoma City; a daughter, Sandy Parker of Washburn; a brother, Bobby Anderson of Batesville; a sister, Melva James of Batesville; five grandchildren; and eight great-grandchildren.
Graveside services will be at 2 p.m. Thursday at Washburn Cemetery. Arrangements are by McConnell Funeral Home of Greenwood.
Billy Tate
MELBOURNE - Billy K. Tate, 73, of Melbourne died Friday, Feb. 27, 2009, in Batesville.
Born Feb. 2, 1936, in Lafferty, he was the son of E.W. and Clara Twilly Tate. He was united in marriage to Vida Banks on July 13, 1960. He served in the U.S. Army. After retiring from Moremans Feed, he enjoyed many years of working with his cattle and sheep. He enjoyed deer and squirrel hunting, his feist squirrel dogs and hearing his wife sing and play the guitar. He was a member of Melbourne First Assembly of God Church.
Nellie Haley
RINGGOLD, Va. - Nellie Hester Haley, 94, of Ringgold, Va., died Saturday, Feb. 28, 2009, in a Danville, Va., nursing home.
Born Feb. 17, 1915, in Jackson County, she was the daughter of Cecil Hester and Lola Davis Hester Fetzer. She had lived all of her life in Arkansas prior to moving to Ringgold in 2003. She retired from International Shoe Company, where she had worked as an inspector with 27 years of service. She was a member of Harrison Street Church of Christ in Batesville, where she had been a Sunday school teacher.
Linda Skaggs
LYNN - Linda Marie Skaggs, 18, of Lynn died Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2009.
Born July 27, 1990, in Newport, she was the daughter of Robert Ljubas and Marie Timbs Williams. She was a senior at Hillcrest High School and an attendant for the Melba Theatre in Batesville. She was of the Baptist belief.
Margie Starks
CAVE CITY - Margie Jo Starks, 60, of Cave City died Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2009.
Born April 6, 1948, she was the daughter of William and Blanche Walker. She was a member of the Batesville Ballet Co. and worked at Cave City Nursing Home.
Hannah Lay
MOUNT PLEASANT - Hannah Eileen Townsend Lay, 75, of Mount Pleasant died Tuesday, Feb. 17, 2009, at her home.
Born March 18, 1933, in New Jersey, she was the daughter of James and Alma Townsend. She was united in marriage to Warren Lay in Greenwood Lake, N.Y., in 1982. She was a school bus driver and retired after 18 years of employment. She attended Lafferty Community Church in Mount Pleasant.
Effie Smith
BROOKLAND - Effie L. Smith, 87, of Brookland died Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2009, in a Jonesboro hospital.
Born June 18, 1921, in Cave City, she was the daughter of Clarence and Sarah Goodman Shirley. She was a homemaker and a member of New Antioch Baptist Church in Brookland.
Survivors include two sons, Clarence J. Cooper of Jonesboro and Robert Smith of Leavenworth, Kan.; a brother, Charles Shirley of St. Louis; seven grandchildren; 10 great-grandchildren; and several nephews and nieces.
Lillian Butler
JONESBORO - Lillian E. Butler, 78, of Jonesboro died Tuesday, Feb. 17, 2009, in Jonesboro.
Born in Lake City, she lived in Jonesboro and Batesville most of her life. She worked for several years as a restaurant manager for Coleman’s Bar-B-Q in Jonesboro and Batesville. She was a member of In His Steps Ministry of Jonesboro.
Bob Gay
PANGBURN - Bob H. Gay, 71, of Pangburn died Monday, Feb. 16, 2009, in a Searcy hospital.
Born Dec. 7, 1937, in Floral, he was the son of Elvin and Monnie Jo Harper Gay. He was a U.S. Army veteran, having served two tours of duty in Vietnam. He was a contractor.
Survivors include a brother, Carlon Gay of Floral; two sisters, Mickey Gay of Batesville and Peggy Taylor of Pangburn; four nephews; three nieces; and several great-nephews and great-nieces.
He was preceded in death by his parents.
David Ellis
BETHESDA - David Leslie Ellis, 57, of Bethesda died Sunday, Feb. 15, 2009, in a Little Rock hospital.
Born June 9, 1951, in San Francisco, he was the son of John Henry Ellis and Sue May “Suzie” Lawrence Ellis. He was a veteran of the U.S. Marine Corps, having served during the Vietnam War, and earned two Purple Hearts. He was a member of Chinquapin Church of Christ.
Kathleen Reed
JAMESTOWN - Kathleen Reed, 61, of Jamestown died Monday, Feb. 16, 2009, in a Batesville hospital.
Born Sept. 16, 1947, in Batesville, she was the daughter of Lorn and Liddie Martin Mitchum. She was a clerk for Arkansas Workforce in Batesville and was of the Church of Christ faith.
Survivors include her husband, Walter Reed; a sister, Nancy Mitchum Brannon of Sherwood; and several nephews and nieces.
She was preceded in death by her parents.
Susan Rueter
Susan Mace Rueter, 54, died Monday, Feb. 16, 2009, at her home.
Memorial services will be at 11 a.m. Saturday at First Presbyterian Church with Bob Cox officiating. Arrange-ments are by Roller-Crouch Funeral Home of Batesville.
Mary Pearce
CAVE CITY - Mary E. Pearce, 83, of Cave City died Sunday, Feb. 15, 2009, in a Searcy hospital.
Born June 17, 1925, in Royal, she was the daughter of John and Mary Muzik Weatherford. She had worked at UniFirst in Cave City and was a “granny” at Cave City Elementary School. She was a member of East Side Southern Baptist Church in Cave City.
Survivors include a grandson, Yancy Branscum of Pleasant Plains; and two great-grandsons, Marshall Branscum and Trace Branscum, both of Pleasant Plains.
Phillip Prickett
Phillip Randel Prickett, 30, died Saturday, Feb. 14, 2009.
Born Sept. 10, 1978, in Batesville, he was the son of Tommy Randell Prickett and Eva L. Gorman. He was a member of the Moose Lodge of Batesville and the American Legion of Batesville.
Survivors include his father of Batesville; his mother of Trinity, Texas; his grandmother, Melba Chessher of Trinity; two daughters, Cerise Prickett and Maya Prickett, both of Batesville; two brothers, Christopher Allen of Trinity and Mitchell Allen of Norfolk, Va.; and several nephews, nieces, uncles and aunts.
Euna Biram
HEBER SPRINGS - Euna Elizabeth Biram, 92, died Thursday, Feb. 12, 2009, in Heber Springs.
Born March 1, 1916, in Floral, she was the daughter of Joe and Beatrice Sample. She was a homemaker and a farm wife. She was a member of Banner Church of Christ.
Survivors include a son, Eugene Biram; 13 grandchildren; and 20 great-grandchildren.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Cecil Biram; three sons, Gerald Biram, Harold Biram and Adrian Biram; five brothers; and three sisters.
Donnie Caruthers II
TEXARKANA, Texas - Donald Ray “Donnie” Caruthers II, 48, of Texarkana, Texas, died Saturday, Feb. 14, 2009, in a Texarkana nursing home.
Born July 25, 1960, in El Dorado, he was the son of Donald Ray Caruthers and Shirley Caruthers Cobb. He was self-employed.
James Bailey Jr.
MAMMOTH SPRING - James Willis Bailey Jr., 74, of Mammoth Spring died Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2009, in Mammoth Spring.
He was the son of James and Elizabeth Calvin Bailey. He was retired from the Department of Defense.
Marty Northcutt
CORD - Marty Darrell Northcutt, 41, of Cord died Wednesday, Feb. 4, 2009.
Born Feb. 18, 1967, in Batesville, he was the son of Robert Northcutt. He was a farmer for Dickey Farms and was of the Baptist faith.
Conway Hames
MOUNT PLEASANT - Conway Hames, 75, of Mount Pleasant died Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2009, at his home.
Born May 3, 1933, in LaCrosse, he was the son of Vernon Delma Hames and Audie Mae Felton Hames. He served in the U.S. Army during the Korean War, attaining the rank of corporal. He was united in marriage to Mary Ruminer on July 17, 1951, in Batesville. He was a carpenter and an avid golfer, hunter and fisherman. He was of the Baptist faith and attended Mount Pleasant Southern Baptist Church.
Florine Harris
STRAWBERRY - Florine Harris, 87, of Strawberry died Wednesday, Feb. 4, 2009, in a Batesville hospital.
Arrangements will be announced by Qualls Funeral Home of Cave City.
George Woolf
Robert George Woolf, 60, of Batesville died Monday, Feb. 2, 2009, in a Little Rock hospital.
Born Sept. 1, 1948, in Little Rock, he was the son of James Lee and Mary Elmo Hornaday Woolf. He worked for 25 years at Entergy of Arkansas. He served as a deacon at Sylvan Hills First Baptist Church in Sherwood and at First Baptist Church of Batesville. He was a 32nd-degree Mason and was a past Worshipful Master of Mount Sinai Lodge 749 NLR.
Donna Sampson
GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. - Donna Nell Sampson, 45, of Grand Junction, Colo., formerly of Batesville, died Monday, Jan. 26, 2009, in Grand Junction.
Born June 13, 1963, in Wichita, Kan., she was the daughter of Jesse Edward Sr. and Roberta Jane Sampson. She attended Enid High School and Northern Oklahoma College in Enid and was studying business administration at Colorado Technical University.
Vernon J.W. Humphries
CAVE CITY - Vernon J W Humphries, 23, of Cave City died Saturday, Jan. 31, 2009, at his home.
Born Oct. 22, 1985, at Newport, he was the son of Vernon Howard Humphries and Carol Bradford.
Survivors include his wife, Laci Humphries of Batesville; a son, Hadyn Josiah Humphries of Batesville; his father of Batesville; his mother of Batesville; his stepmother, Van Humphries of Batesville; his grandparents, Marie Humphries of Memphis and Odie and Dwan Bradford of Ethridge, Tenn.; a brother, Adrian M. Humphries of Batesville; a sister, Mandy Marie Humphries of Memphis; an uncle, David Humphries of Memphis; two aunts, Bev Ogren of Minnesota and Terry Taylor of Ethridge; three great-uncles, Don Humphries and Ted Humphries, both of Washington, D.C., and James Humphries of Arlington, Tenn.; and a great-aunt, Loretta Humphries of Arlington.
