Obituaries from October 2007

Evelyn Kilbreth (10/31/07)
Evelyn "Rooster" Kilbreth, 77, of McDougal, died Friday, Oct. 26, 2007, at Barnes Hospital in St. Louis, Mo. She was born July 8, 1930, in Clay County to the late George Simmons Bradshaw and Lillie (Taylor) Bradshaw and was of the Baptist faith. She was married March 9, 1946, to Wayne Kilbreth, who survives. She also was preceded in death by a son, Thomas Franklin Kilbreth; one great-granddaughter, Randi Lynn Mooneyhan; four brothers, and one sister...

Anita Inman (10/31/07)
Anita W. Inman, 80, of Rector died Thursday, Oct. 18, 2007, at Paragould. The daughter of the late William and Mary Reynolds, she was born Nov. 11, 1926, in Morrilton. She was a retired welder and was of the Baptist faith. Survivors include two sons, William Underwood of Rector and Bobby Underwood of Paragould; three daughters, Judy Kieffel of Rector, Mary E. ...

Clayton Huggins (10/31/07)
Clayton Huggins, 85, of Rector died Sunday, Oct. 21, 2007, at St. Bernards Regional Medical Center in Jonesboro. Mr. Huggins was born Sept. 19, 1922, in Clay County and was a lifetime resident. He served over 10 years on the Rector School Board and was a member of the Church of Christ...

Virgil Clarence Grubb (10/31/07)
Virgil Grubb, 82, of Boydsville died Friday, Oct. 26, 2007, at Arkansas Methodist Medical Center in Paragould. Born Nov. 22, 1924, in the Rector area, he was a farmer and had retired from an area shoe factory. He was preceded in death by his wife, Floyie Grubb...

Clayton Huggins (10/24/07)
Clayton Huggins, 85, of Rector died Sunday, Oct. 21, 2007, at St. Bernards Regional Medical Center in Jonesboro. Mr. Huggins was born Sept. 9, 1922, in Clay County and was a lifetime resident. He served over 10 years on the Rector School Board and was a member of the Church of Christ...

Berda Geneva Walker (10/17/07)
Berda Geneva Walker, 89, of Benton, formerly of Rector, died Friday, Oct. 12. She was born Dec. 13, 1917, to the late E.C. and Annie Hardin Walker. She was also preceded in death by her first husband, Chester Walker; her second husband, Henry Payne; a daughter, Freeda Faye Moseley Tinkle; three brothers, W.T. Hardin, Briney Parmenter and Bennie Parmenter...

NEVA MAE LITTLE (10/17/07)
Neva Little, 89, of Rector died Sunday, Oct. 14, at Piggott Community Hospital. She was born Oct. 26, 1917, in the Leonard community. She was preceded in death by her parents, Wiley and Mary Ellis; her husbands, Lawrence Little and John Raney; one son, Gary Raney, and three daughters, JoAnn Raney, Nelda Raney...

Marvin Dale Travelstead (10/10/07)
Marvin Dale Travelstead, 74, of Rector, formerly of Creal Springs, Ill., lost his battle with cancer and went home to be with his Lord on Friday, Oct. 5, 2007. Born Sept. 10, 1933, in Creal Springs to the late Walter and Bessie (Sims) Travelstead, he was a veteran of the Korean War and had worked through his career as an orchard worker, a factory worker and was employed at Norge/Maytag in Herrin, Ill., and Darling Fixtures in Paragould, where he retired...

Everett Nixon (10/10/07)
Everett P. Nixon, 90, of Rector, died Wednesday, Oct. 3, at his home. He was a World War II veteran and was of the Baptist faith. He was preceded in death by his parents, James Walter and Minnie Lou "Landrum" Nixon; two brothers, Floyd and Roy Nixon, and one sister, Zell Parrish Nixon...

Carvin George Whelchel (10/03/07)
Carvin George Whelchel, 83, of Paragould, formerly of Marmaduke, died Sunday, Sept. 30, 2007, at Greene Acres Nursing Home in Paragould. Born June 24, 1924, at Murphysboro, Ill., he retired as a steelworker from Rockford Drop Forge in Rockford, Ill. He was a member of the United Pentecostal Church of Oak Grove, Ill...

Rev. Elmo A. Thomason (10/03/07)
Rev. Elmo A. Thomason, 92, of Conway died Tuesday, Sept, 18. He was born in Mt. Vernon, Ark., to the late Walter and Hassie Thomason. Rev. Thomason received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Hendrix College and a Master of Divinity degree from Southern Methodist University. He served as a United Methodist minister for 72 years...

Michael Troy Nix (10/03/07)
Michael Troy Nix, 21, of Alaska, the only grandson of Rector native Doyle Pruett and his wife, Joy, of Pearland, Texas, died tragically Sunday, Aug. 26, 2007, in Anchorage. His maternal grandparents are John and Carolyn Cook of Fairfied Bay and he was the great-grandson of the late Dr. Byron and Marguerite Futrell of Rector...

Royce Earl Midkiff (10/03/07)
Royce Earl Midkiff, 70, of Greenway, died Monday, Sept. 24, 2007, at the General Baptist Nursing Home in Campbell, Mo. Born July 11, 1937, in Rector to the late William Roy Midkiff and Johnnie Pearl Reynolds Midkiff, he was a mechanic, a member of Rector First General Baptist Church and a life-long member of the community...

Leda Marie Collie (10/03/07)
Leda Marie Collier, 61, of Paragould, formerly of Marmaduke, died Thursday, Sept. 27, at her home after a long and courageous battle with breast cancer. Mrs. Collier was born Jan. 1, 1946, to Wolford and Beulah Henson. She was married in 1966 to Charles Collier and was a loving wife, mother and grandmother. She was a retired teacher at Marmaduke and belonged to the Marmaduke Church of Christ...

Dan Cole (10/03/07)
Dan Cole, 78, of Rector died Sunday, Sept. 30, 2007, at Evergreen Health and Rehabilitation in Rector. He was born July 19, 1929, in Shelby County, Tenn. He was preceded in death by his parents: Carl and Mary Cole; one son, Charley Cole; two brothers, Penny and Charley Cole, and one sister, Ruth Cole...

Melvin D. "Butch" Brown (10/03/07)
(Editor's Note: Some information for this story was provided by the Daily American Republic at Poplar Bluff). Rector native and retired Poplar Bluff banker Melvin D. "Butch" Brown died Friday, Sept. 28, at a Tennessee hospital where he was flown for treatment of injuries he suffered when his motorcycle was struck by a sport-utility vehicle...