in Little Rock in 1939, she was a graduate of L.R.C.H., class of 1957. She attended the University of Arkansas where she was a member of Pi Beta Phi sorority. She graduated from Arkansas Tech, class of 1962.
Married 46 years, she and her husband Calvin traveled extensively through his job with Dupont/Conoco. For 16 of those years, she taught adult education in various locations in the U.S. and overseas.
Survivors include her husband Calvin of Hot Springs; daughter Terri of Atlanta, Georgia; son Mike and wife Susan of Ft. Worth, Texas, and granddaughters Caitlin & Sarah Moore.
A celebration of life will be held at Ruebel Funeral Home, 6313 West Markham, from 6:00 to 7:30 p.m. on Sunday, September 11, 2005. There will be a graveside service at Pinecrest Cemetery at 11:00 a.m. on Monday for family and close friends.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Humane Society of Garland County, P.O. Box 1484, Hot Springs, AR 71902.
Arrangements are by Ruebel Funeral Home.
Gerald Foster "Chief" Martindill
Gerald Foster “Chief” Martindill, age 81, of North Little Rock, died Friday, September 9, 2005. He was born in Searcy, Arkansas where he graduated from high school before serving in the U.S. Army during World War II. After the war he marriage Dorothy Jane Fike moving together to West Helena, Arkansas, in 1947, where Chief worked for the Pekinwood Company where he helped build the wood panels for Chrysler Town and Country Station Wagons. In 1955 he and Dorothy moved to Jacksonville and Chief continued his involvement with the automobile industry as sales manager for 10 years at Moore Ford in North Little Rock, and in 1967 sales manager for Rebsamen Ford in Little Rock. In 1970 he and his son Butch started the Little Rock Dodge Dealership later acquiring Little Rock Mitsubishi in 1988 and Little Rock Chrysler Jeep dealership in 1990. Chief was known for his love of training people in sales and management. He was well known for his teaching “cutting edge” retailing. Having the largest Dodge dealership in the United States in 1972 did not keep Chief from staying in touch with his people insuring they received the best training possible so they could become top sales people. He loved their success and he enjoyed competing with them later. His love of teaching continued in his church, First Baptist Church of Jacksonville, where he taught the 12 year old Sunday School Class for 20 years. In 1996 a dream came true for Chief when he and his Dorothy purchased farm land outside of Searcy now called Martindill Farms where he and his brother oversaw raising Santa Gertrudis cattle.
He is survived by his wife of over 60 years, Dorothy Jane Martindill of Little Rock, one son Butch Martindill and wife Cathy of Little Rock, one brother, Leon Martindill and wife Barbara of Searcy, and three grandchildren; Christopher, Matthew Martindill & Cara Clem.
There will be a visitation Tuesday from 5 to 7pm at Ruebel Funeral Home, followed Wednesday with a funeral service at 11am at Asbury United Methodist Church. Burial will follow in Rest Hills Cemetery. Arrangements are under the direction of Ruebel Funeral Home.
In lieu of flowers memorials should be made to Asbury United Methodist Church, 1700 Napa Valley Drive, Little Rock 72212.
Alice Crystal McDonnell
Alice Crystal McDonnell passed away September 14, 2005. She was born August 29, 1923, to the late Leonard and Rosa McLeod Outland. She moved to Little Rock and marriage the love of her life, Joseph L. McDonnell in 1946. She faced tragedy early in her life when her husband passed away in 1957. She dedicated the rest of her life to raising her three children and caring for her family. She retired after 20 years as a bookkeeper for the Arkansas State Hospital and greatly enjoyed traveling with her family. She loved spending time with her many family members in Kentucky. Alice was a loving mother and faced her last illness with the courage, grace and dignity that she showed for her entire life. The family wishes to thank the staff of Baptist Hospital 3A, Dr. Moses Ejiofor, Dr. Fernando Padilla and Baptist Hospice for their professionalism and compassion.
Alice is survived by one daughter Sharon Matheny and husband Bob of Atlanta, Georgia, 2 sons; Mark McDonnell and wife Jan, Kerry McDonnell and wife Sherry all of Little Rock, 4 sisters, Barbara Nell Strader and husband Orvis of Calvert City, Kentucky, Alexa Starks and Becky Hampton both of Murray, Kentucky, Mary Jane Charlton and husband Dan of Wright City, Missouri, 1 brother Bill Outland and wife Christine of Guyton, Georgia, 4 grandchildren; Karen Dodson, Miles and Jody McDonnell, Amy Wike and 2 great-grandchildren.
There will be a visitation Friday from 5 to 7pm at Ruebel Funeral Home followed Saturday with a funeral service at the funeral home officiated by Reverend Troy Costanza. Burial will follow in Roselawn Memorial Park. Arrangements are under the direction of Ruebel Funeral Home.
In lieu of flowers donations may be made to ARC, Arkansas Retarded Citizens of Arkansas.
Thomas Duane Hughes
Thomas Duane Hughes, 58, of New Orleans, died September 22, 2005. He was born in Little Rock on December 12, 1946 to the late E.L. “Jack” and Rose “Tommie” Hankins Hughes and was a graduate of Hall High School.
Survivors include his wife of 33 years, Carmen Bond Hughes; son, Mathew Hughes and wife Jan of New Orleans; brother, Ron Hughes and wife Catherine of Little Rock; sisters, Becky Malone and husband Ken of Broken Arrow, OK, and Mona Kroeper and husband Nick of Plano, TX; one grandchild, Logan Duane Hughes; and nine nieces and nephews.
After serving in the United States Army, Duane worked most of his life as a horizontal directional driller (HDD) and later as a superintendent of HDD crews. He usually worked out of New Orleans, but over the course of his career he traveled the world. He was an expert at what he did. As a driller, he set several records, including once installing a 48-inch diameter gas line under the Mississippi River, the biggest gas pipe ever pulled under the Mississippi. He and his crew were working in Elgin, Illinois when he died of a sudden heart attack.
A memorial service will be held at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday, October 1, 2005 in the Chapel of Ruebel Funeral Home, Little Rock.
Memorials, in lieu of flowers, may be made to the American Heart Association, P.O. Box 1653, Topeka, KS 66601.
James R. Hillis
James R. Hillis, age 60, of Little Rock, died Monday, Sept. 5. He is a former vice president of human resources at Alltel.
He was born Dec. 13, 1944, in Memphis, Tenn., to the Rev. Dr. James Ralph Hillis, who preceded him in death in 1993, and Era Lee Pierce Hillis of Texarkana, Texas.
Jim was a passionate reader of history, a great cook with a Cajun flair, and a devoted fan of the University of Arkansas Razorbacks and the St. Louis Cardinals.
Jim graduated from Monticello High School in Monticello, Ark., in 1962. He held a bachelor’s degree in history and political science from Hendrix College in Conway, where he earned the Dr. William Curt Buthman History award as the outstanding history student his senior year. He also held a master’s degree in history from the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville, where he became a fervent Razorback fan. He followed Razorback sports with enthusiasm for the remainder of his life.
He taught history and coached football at Monticello High School before joining a U.S. Justice Dept. consortium located on the campuses of Henderson State University and Ouachita Baptist University. This group, under his leadership, drafted desegregation plans for rural school districts in Arkansas, Texas and Louisiana. After, as he would comment “we worked ourselves out of a job, ” he joined the human resources department at St. Vincent Infirmary. He then joined the newly founded Systematics, Inc., when it had fewer than one hundred employees and headed its human resources organization until the company was acquired by Alltel Corp. in 1990.
Jim retired from Alltel in 2001 after serving in a variety of management positions during his 23-year career.
Jim loved ball games, especially ones involving the Razorbacks, and traveled faithfully to Fayetteville for both football and basketball games. His passion for professional sports focused on the St. Louis Cardinals. Having Cardinal games on cable TV the past few years made his summers sweeter.
Jim was a gracious man, deeply committed to his family and friends. His gentle manner and compassion for others marked his career in human resource management, as well as his many friendships.
Survivors are his mother, his wife, Aimee Claire, and three daughters, Lisa Browning and her husband, Bo, of Little Rock; Debbie O’Meara and her husband, Biff, of Roanoke, Va.; and Beth McCandless and her husband, Colin, of Little Rock; one brother, Dr. Michael Hillis and his wife, Tammie, of Texarkana, Texas; one sister, Ellen Tate and her husband, Jeff, of Rogers; and two grandchildren, Johnathon and Christopher O’Meara of Roanoke.
Visitation will be from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 7, at Ruebel Funeral Home, 6313 West Markham in Little Rock. Funeral services will be at 11 a.m. Thursday, Sept. 8, at St. James United Methodist Church in Little Rock with the Rev. Clarence “C.J.” Duvall officiating.
Services will be under the direction of Ruebel Funeral Home.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the American Heart Association and the Razorback Foundation.
