Jessie Mae Bales
Jessie Mae Bales, 84, of Jonesboro, died Aug. 6, 2003, at her home.
Born Aug. 5, 1919, at Clover Bend, she was the daughter of Emmett and Ivie Spivey Healey. She lived most of her life in Lawrence and Craighead counties and was a member of the Methodist Church of Sedgwick. She was preceded in death by her husband, Duane Bales; a brother, Calvin Healey; and two sisters, Faye Healey and Hazel
O'Connor.
Survivors include five sons, Warren Bales, Ronald Bales and Kelly Bales, all of Paragould, Steve Bales, Jonesboro, and Kevin Bales, Calhoun City, Miss.; two brothers, Bob Healey, Sedgwick, and Paul Healey, Conway; a sister, Ruby Worlow, Sedgwick; six grandchildren; 10 great-grandchildren; and two great-great-grandchildren.
Graveside service was Friday at Old Military Cemetery at Sedgwick with Tommy Lamb officiating. Roller-Farmers Union Funeral Home of Jonesboro had charge of arrangements.
Pallbearers were Warren Bales, Ronald Bales, Steve Bales, Kelly Bales, Kevin Bales and Quentin Bales. Honorary pallbearers were Raymon Tribble and Peck Vance.
Myrtle Imogene Blanchard
Myrtle Imogene Blanchard, 75, of Walnut Ridge, died Aug. 10, 2003, at St. Bernards in Jonesboro, following a lengthy illness.
Born Sept. 30, at Ponders Switch, she was a homemaker and a member of the New Life Cathedral Pentecostal Church.
She was preceded in death by her parents, Willie and Claudia Elizabeth Williams Brewer; a son, James David Blanchard; two brothers, Gent Brewer and Eugene Brewer; and a sister, Fern Urban.
Survivors include her husband, Don Harold Blanchard, whom she married Feb. 8, 1950; a son, Don H. Blanchard Jr., Cherokee Village; a daughter, Donna Edmondson, Wynne; three sisters, Bernice Hoffman and Bonda Sue Duckworth, both of Walnut Ridge, and Pearline Sorrels, Hoxie; and three grandchildren, Lindsey Blanchard, Madelyn Blanchard and Stacey Edmondson.
Funeral is today at 2 p.m. in Bryan Chapel with Dr. Ted Edmondson, Bro. Paul Craig and Sister Betty Williams officiating. Burial will be in Clark Cemetery near Alicia under the direction of Bryan Funeral Home.
Pallbearers will be Roger Brand, Buddy Doty, Stan Jones, JL Wright, Jack Allison and Alex Latham.
Loys Cate
Loys Cate, 72, of Piggott, brother of Granville Cate and Carl Cate, both of Walnut Ridge, died Aug. 7, 2003, at the VA Hospital in Memphis. Funeral was Sunday at Irby Funeral Home in Piggott with Carl Cate officiating. Burial was in Piggott Cemetery.
John C. Lakey
John C. Lakey, 80, of Grand Rapids, Mich., died Aug. 4, 2003, after a lengthy illness.
Born July 26, 1923, near Sedgwick, he was the son of John H. and Dixie Cook Lakey. He was a 1943 graduate of Dixie High School and served in the Army Air Corps. He later worked for Continental Airlines in Phoenix, Ariz. In 1983, he retired to Lake City, where he was a deacon of the First Baptist Church.
Survivors include his wife, Mary Webb Lakey, whom he married in 1947, in Flint, Mich.; two sons, Brian Lakey, of the home, and David Lakey, Nashville, Tenn.; three sisters, Dovie Gipson and Rachel Pack, both of Lake City, and Gussie Dillon, Tampa, Fla.; and a granddaughter, Megan Lakey.
Funeral was Sunday at 2 p.m. at the First Baptist Church in Lake City with Bro. Scott Miller officiating. Burial was in Old Military Cemetery at Sedgwick under the direction of Bryan Funeral Home.
Pallbearers were Bill Anderson, Bud Manis, Benny Martin, Harvey Thompson, Roy Pack and Kenneth Willfond. Members of his Sunday School class will serve as honorary pallbearers.
Memorials may be made to the American Cancer Society or to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital of Memphis.
R.D. McGough
R.D. McGough, 91, of Mountain View, formerly of Black Rock, died Aug. 8, 2003, at Stone County Medical Center.
Born in Alabama, he lived in the Swifton and Alicia area before moving to Black Rock, where he lived for 40 years. He moved to Mountain View 10 years ago. He was a retired carpenter.
He was preceded in death by his wife, Geneva McGough, in 1999; six sisters and a brother.
Survivors include a daughter, Lavon George, Mountain View; five grandchildren; 10 great-grandchildren; and eight great-great-grandchildren.
Funeral was Monday at 2 p.m. at the Black Rock Church of Christ with Frank Curtis and Ed Yates officiating. Burial was in Lawrence Memorial Park under the direction of House-Gregg Funeral Home.
Pallbearers were Robert Shelton, Bill Whitlow, Bob Vance, Mike Inman, Jim Inman and Charles Verkler.
Memorials may be made to Paragould Children's Home, 5515 Old Walcott Road, Paragould, AR 72450-9983.
Rosemary Baldridge Mitts
Rosemary Baldridge Mitts, 52, of Hoxie, died Aug. 10, 2003, at Lawrence Memorial Hospital.
Born at Walnut Ridge, she lived at Hoxie all her life and was a member of the Free Street Church of Christ. She was a retired family support spe#####t for the Department of Human Services, where she worked for 28 years.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Paul Mitts, in 1999; her father, Edwin Baldridge; and a brother, Jay Baldridge.
Survivors include her mother, Mary Baldridge Swindle, Walnut Ridge; a sister, Ruth Ann Dunahay, Jacksonville; a brother, Charles Baldridge, Tampa, Fla.; and a sister-in-law, Jackie Baldridge, Black Rock.
Funeral is today at 10 a.m. in the House-Gregg Chapel with Don R. House and Robert Davis officiating. Burial will be in Lawrence Memorial Park under the direction of House-Gregg Funeral Home.
Pallbearers will be Bob Smith, Bob Anderson, James Langley, Don Tennison, Garland Gilmore and Jim Mosier.
Myrtle Mildred Recker
Myrtle Mildred Recker, 94, of Greers Ferry, died Aug. 12, 2003, at the Central Arkansas Hospital in Searcy, following a short illness.
Born May 18, 1909, in Louisville, Ky., she was the daughter of William and Martha Jane Powell. She moved to Arkansas in early life, living in Dewitt, Hoxie and Peach Orchard before retiring to Greers Ferry in 1976. She was a homemaker and a member of the First Baptist Church in Hoxie.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Raymond Charles Recker, on Jan. 18, 1992, whom she married on June 20, 1927.
Survivors include a son, Junior Recker, Greers Ferry; six daughters, Pauline Cooksey, Hoxie, Bonna George and Shirley Inman, both of Greers Ferry, Raylene Wiles, Corning, Dee Niedermeier, Peach Orchard, and Debbie Harpole, Memphis; 18 grandchildren; 27 great-grandchildren; and 12 great-great-grandchildren.
Funeral is Friday at 2 p.m. in Bryan Chapel. Burial will be in Lawrence Memorial Park under the direction of Bryan Funeral Home.
Grandsons will serve as pallbearers.
Visitation is Thursday evening from 6 to 8.
James Leo Sorg
James Leo Sorg, 79, Pocahontas, father of Dale Sorg of Walnut Ridge, died Aug. 8, 2003, at Randolph County Medical Center. Burial was Monday in St. Paul's Cemetery under the direction of McNabb Funeral Home of Pocahontas.
Haskell D. Stout
Haskell D. "Hack" Stout, 89, of Pocahontas, died Aug. 9, 2003.
Born March 6, 1914, at Shannon, he was the son of William and Mary Emma Seagraves Stout. He was a World War II Air Force veteran and was a used car dealer in the Walnut Ridge area for 30 years.
He was preceded in death by a son, Jackie Stout; and several brothers and sisters.
Survivors include his wife, Colleen Stout; a son, Glenn Ray Stout, Pocahontas; a daughter, Mary Nell Wheeless, Decatur, Ala.; seven grandchildren; and several great-grandchildren.
Graveside service was Tuesday at Hite Cemetery with Melvin Shelton officiating. Cox-Waymon Funeral Home of Pocahontas had charge of arrangements.
Pallbearers were Mark Bradley, Doug Bradley, Mack Archer, Chester Bell, Barry Fields and Terry Crosby.
