Biographical And Historical Memoirs of Pulaski, Jefferson, Lonoke, Faulkner, Grant, Saline, Perry, Garland And Hot Spring Counties, Arkansas
Robert L. Truitt
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 P. Riley
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.
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
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 C. Cowan
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
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 E. Bryan
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 E. Shiras
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.
