Obituaries from
The EARLE
(and other various articles)
From the Year 1953
Compiled by Debbie Yates
August-September 2003
Return
to Earle Enterprise Index
Earle Enterprise,
C. I. Phelps, Editor
Ruth Phelps, Associate Editor
Mrs. Wrenn Phelps, Society
Published every Friday by Phelps Printing
Company at
BILL BAKER INJURED IN HIGHWAY COLLISION
BILL BAKER, employee of the Arkansas Power & Light Company, suffered a painful accident when the car which he was driving crashed into a truck trailer combination near Smithdale Monday afternoon.
The trailer-truck, operated by Purex, was traveling west after having been unable to negotiate the subway at Earle due to its height, made the abrupt left turn near the Smithdale crossing causing the crash. Bill, who was following, was unable to avoid collision.
Bill was taken to the
According to report there were no witnesses to the accident who could verify the fault.
TWO NEGRO CHILDREN PERISH IN FLAMES
While their parents were working in a nearby field two small negro children were burned to death in their home four miles south of Parkin on U. S. Highway 75 Tuesday afternoon. Lloyd Cole, Parkin marshal identified the dead as: SHIRLEY JEAN BELL, 9 months and LORETTA BELL, 2 years of age.
Marshal Cole said the parents Tom Bell and his wife, and others ran toward the three-room frame house when they saw it in flames but were too late to save the children. The house was completely destroyed. A third child of the Bells, a 4-year-old boy, had been in the house but escaped. The parents said no fire or lamp had been left burning in the house. The origin was undetermined, Marshal Cole said.
GEORGE E. BLAYLOCK
Services for GEORGE E. BLAYLOCK of 4134 Highway 51 North, retired farmer of
Webb, Miss., and Earle were held at the Earle Baptist Church Sunday afternoon
with Dr. C. M. Savage pastor, and Rev. H. L. Lipford of Brinkley
officiating. Burial was in
Mr. Blaylock was 74. He died Saturday at the Highway 51 address
where he lived with a daughter, Mrs. R. C. Lyles. He also leaves his wife, Mrs. Susan Blalock;
a son, Frank Blaylock of
EARLE PIONEER DIES
IN
Dan Boone of
Prior to moving to Earle, he lived in
FUNERAL SERVICES FOR TOMMY LEE BOWLING
Funeral services for TOMMY LEE BOWLING, age 44, were held at the Earle Baptist Church
Sunday afternoon at 2:30 o’clock with Dr. C. M. Savage of Earle and Rev. J. R.
Womack of
Mr. Bowling, a resident of
PERSONALS
Mrs. A. H. Harrell and sister Mrs. Elbert
Leasure accompanied by Mrs. W. W. Forrester were in
MRS. MARY CHISOLM
Mrs. MARY
CHISOLM of
Mrs. Chisholm was born in Webster County,
Miss., and had lived in
JERRY GILBERT COLLUM
JERRY
GILBERT COLLUM, an Earle resident for a number of years, died Tuesday
morning in
Besides his wife, Mrs. Leodis Collum, he leaves two sons, C. F. Collum of Memphis, Orin Collum of Earle; three daughters, Mrs. Earl Kennedy of Tampa, Fla., Mrs. Dorse Sutherland of Crawfordsville, Ark., and Jane Collum of Earle.
Services were held at
MISS SUSIE CRABB IS VICTIM OF TRAGIC HIGHWAY ACCIDENT
Mrs. C. V. Crabb and her son John, were
called to
Susie left Earle Tuesday morning to join
friends for a trip to
The
head-on collision fatally injured Miss MYRTIS
POOLE DICKSON, 23-year-old
Another
teacher, Miss LENA EXUM of
In the other car were FRANCIS HUMPHREYS, the driver, JIMMY HUMPHREY, his brother, and BUDDY MELTON. The two brothers suffered severe cuts and bruises. All the accident victims were hospitalized except Melton.
Earle
friends have been informed by Mrs. Crabb, that Susie has regained consciousness
and was being treated for a brain concussion, and severe cuts and bruises. She is a patient at
NEGRO FAMILY WIPED OUT BY TRAGIC FIRE
EARLE
DAVIS, 24, his wife and young daughter were burned to death in a fire which
destroyed their home on Conner and McCorkle plantation on Highway 75 seven
miles south of Parkin early Sunday.
Davis, negro tenant farmer his wife, WILLIE PEARL (DAVIS), 18, EARLY
ARTHUR MARIE (DAVIS), 18 months, were in Parkin shopping Saturday night,
and the Davis car broke down. A neighbor
drove them home about
Deputy
Marshal Chic Young, of Parkin, went to the scene shortly after
Willie Pearl is the granddaughter of
Arthur Sims, local Negro Undertaker.
Services will be held in Earle Sunday afternoon at the
W. I. ETZEL SUCCUMBS TO HEART CONDITION
WILLIAM
ISAAC ETZEL of Earle, retired Missouri Pacific telegraph operator died
Friday, November 27, at
Services
were held at the
He leaves his wife; two daughters, Miss
Janis Etzel of Earle and Miss Mary Etzel of
Masonic rites were conducted at the
grave-side in
WALTER E. FRANKLIN SR.
Services
for WALTER ELLIS FRANKLIN SR.,
druggist of Parkin who died enroute to the
Mr.
Franklin, who was 70, had operated
He
leaves his wife; a son, W. E. Franklin Jr., both of Parkin, and a sister, Mrs.
George Reser of
CONGRESSMAN’S MOTHER DIES; SHE WAS 89
Mrs. VIRGIE
GARNER GATHINGS, mother of the United States Representative E. C. “Took” Gathings of West Memphis, died Sunday morning, July 5, at
the home of her daughter, Mrs. C. E. Daniel, in
Mrs. Gathings,
widow of M. W. Gathings, was born at Mayhew, Miss. She moved to Earle in 1916 and to
Services were held at 10 Tuesday morning
at Citizens Funeral Home in
MRS. MELINDA GOLDEN
Mrs. MELINDA
C. GOLDEN, of
Those from Earle to attend the services ere Mr. Thos Sellers, Miss Edith Chapman, Mrs. Floyd Roberts, Mrs. Maynard Hudgins, Mrs. W. H. Stancil, Mrs. John Namey and Mrs. Ellis Haddad. Mr. Haddad and Mr. Stancil were pallbearers.
MRS. GOLDA GRIGGS SUCCUMBS TO ILLNESS
After
a long illness, Mrs. GOLDA GRIGGS
died at her home here Sunday morning around
Services were held Tuesday morning at 10 at the Earle Baptist church with Dr. C. M. Savage, pastor in charge, assisted by the pastor of the Earle Methodist Church Rev. G. A. McKelvey.
Mrs. Griggs, who
was 48, was born in
She leaves her husband, Alfred Griggs; a son Hilton Griggs, of Earle; two daughters, Mrs. Gordon Grafton, of Hughes and Mrs. Jimmy Hooper of Sidon, Miss.; a brother, the Rev. Roy Hilton of Ponder, Texas; and her parents, Mr. and Mrs. C. T. Hilton of Earle.
Pallbearers were,
C. L. Blanz, W. E. Crenshaw, Billy Rogers, W. C.
Hudgins, Grady Franks and Richard Wood.
Burial was in
TWO ARE KILLED BY HEAT
According to Richard Scruggs administrator
of the
Mr. Scruggs identified the heat victims as
MARTINEZ JUSTINE GUEVES of
February 27, 1953
SERVICES HELD
FOR JOHN L. HARRIS
Services for JOHN L. HARRIS JR., who died at the St. Mary’s Hospital in Knoxville , Tenn. 11 o’clock at the Earle Methodist Church Paragould National Cemetery Memphis New Jersey Knoxville
Born and reared in Earle he was graduated
from Earle High School University of Arkansas Piggott , Ark. Earle Methodist Church West Memphis
He leaves his wife, Mrs. Muriel Harris; a
daughter, Martha Lynn Harris of West Memphis; four brothers, Wilbur Harris,
Malcolm Harris and Dewitt Harris of Earle, and Carl Harris of Lonoke, a sister,
Mrs. Paul Patterson of West Memphis, and his parents, Mr. and Mrs. John L.
Harris of Earle. Active Pallbearers
were, Boots Roberts, Eddie Sample, Saideie Namey, Wrenn Phelps, Kinley Ray and Harold Falls
SERVICES ARE HELD HERE MONDAY FOR J. M. JENKINS
Services for JAMES MILLS JENKINS, a beloved citizen
of Earle for the past 50 years, was held at
Mr. Jenkins, who was 75, died Sunday
morning, January 18, at the
He returned to Crawfordsville in 1901 and
moved to Earle in 1905 where he held farming interests for many years. He married Miss Lewis Powell of Earle in
1907, uniting two prominent families of
He leaves his wife, Mrs. Lewis Powell
Jenkins; two sons, J. M. Jenkins of
Active Pallbearers were, Daryl Cato, Gene Morrison, Ellis Haddad, Watt Campbell, James Wood, Ed Bond and J. C. Reece. Honorary: J. O. Anderson, C. B. O’Neil, Floyd Roberts, F. E. Beattie, R. W. Miller and H. N. Rogers
ARTHUR
ARTHUR LAYTON, 68, was found dead at this home Sunday morning, January 18, by neighbors who investigated his absence from his usual avocations. According to reports, he suffered a heart attack. Arthur was a pioneer citizen of Earle and belonged to one of the oldest and most respected families of this community. They have been farmers all their lives and his immediate family is still engaged in this profession.
He is survived by three brothers, Herbert,
Dave and Lowell Layton, and a sister, Mrs. A. F. Glover. Funeral services were
held at Holt Funeral Home at
EARLE FARMER KILLED IN TRACTOR ACCIDENT
WALTER LANE LINDLEY, 33, was victim of a fatal farming accident at his home south of Earle Tuesday afternoon when he became pinned under the wheel of a tractor which he was trying to extricate from a mud hole. The exact cause of the accident was not determined as there were no eye witnesses.
Mr. Lindley was born and educated in Wynne and was a veteran of World War II. He entered the army in 1942 and was discharged in the Fall of 1944, serving in the European Theatre and took part in D-Day invasion. He held the Purple Heart, Oak Leaf Cluster and other citations. He was actively engaged in farming in this community and was a member of A. L. Reed’s Veterans’ Training Class.
He is survived by his wife Frances Porter
Lindley; one son Walter Lane Jr.; a daughter, Janan
Lindley of Memphis; a sister, Mr. H. H. Priest and his parents, Mr. and Mrs.
Mike Lindley of
Active Pallbearers were Bill Kennedy, H. W. Vogel, Elbert Person, Jimmy King of Earle, Jack Hooper and Curlin Dearing of Wynne.
FORMER EARLE RESIDENT DIES AT RIPLEY, MISS.
Services for Mrs. EMMA MCCLELLAN, a former Earle resident, who died last Friday night at the home of her daughter, Mrs. W. H. Anderson in Ripley, Miss., were held at 3 Sunday afternoon in Ripley.
Mrs.
McClellan was 68. She was a member of a
pioneer
MCNAIR SERVICES HELD SUNDAY
Services for held Sunday
afternoon at
The
pastor of the Wynne Church of Christ officiated. Burial was in the
BUSINESS HOUSES CLOSE DURING SERVICES FOR ROLLO W. MILLER
The
business houses in Earle were closed last Friday afternoon for 45 minutes in
respect to one of Earle’s beloved citizens, ROLLO W. MILLER, who died suddenly, Thursday afternoon about
Mr.
Miller was born on
In
1919, he married Miss Marye Cooper of
Since 1949 he was been Representative in Earle for the Farm Bureau Insurance Company. He was a Mason, an Elder in the Presbyterian Church where he served faithfully for many years. He had a host of friends and a fitting remark was made by one of them recently when he said, “Rollo didn’t preach his religion, but lived it.” He will be greatly missed in our community.
Burial
was in Memorial Park in
MRS. O. B. MILLS
Services for Mrs. LAURA MILLS, a pioneer Parkin resident who died Saturday, were held Monday at Parkin Methodist church with Rev. Ray Y. Langley officiating. Mrs. Mills, who was 62, was the wife of O. B. Mills, jeweler.
She leaves her husband; her father, H. N. Green of Parkin; three brothers, Newton and Tom Green of Parkin and Dewey Green of Forrest City and two sisters, Mrs. C. C. Durfee of Detroit and Mrs. J. L. Miller of Parkin.
LITTLE WILLIAM MORRISON IS VICTIM OF POLIO
Services were held Friday afternoon at the
Rev. G. A. McKelvey,
pastor was the officiating minister.
Burial was in Memorial Park,
In addition to his parents, he leaves his
grandfather, Dr. J. J. McCaughan of
HEART ATTACK FATAL TO HARVEY PATRICK
HARVEY
N. PATRICK of
Mr.
Patrick was born at
He
leaves his wife, Mrs. Lena Patrick, four daughters, Mrs. R. T. Strickland Mrs.
J. E. Wilkinson of Memphis, Mrs. L. M. Jackson of Lucy,
Services
were held at
EARLE NEGRO DIES IN BLAZING WRECK
A
life was claimed as the result of an accident Monday afternoon on Highway 149
about 2 miles north of Earle when a negro, DEMPSEY PEARL, driving south,
lost control of the ton and a half truck he was driving, leaving the highway
and became wedged between two trees. The
truck caught fire and
Earle
fireman answered the call, extinguished the flames and with hack saws broke
open the cab and pulled the negro out. He was badly burned and suffered internal
injuries and broken bones. He lived for
only a few minutes.
The
truck was owned by the Peoples Implement Company of Earle and was loaded with a
tractor at the time of the accident.
NEGRO GIRL LOSES
FLORENCE
MAE SMITH, 6-year-old Negro girl daughter of Sollie
and Florence Smith, tenant farmers on the T. J. Cloar Plantation north of
Earle, lost her battle with lockjaw when she died at
She cut her knee with a piece of glass
while playing in the yard at her home on April 9,
Anti-tetanus shots were not given the child at the time and lockjaw
developed. Radio Station WDIA in
All money left after the hospital bill is paid will be placed in a memorial fund to be known as the WDIA-Florence Mae Smith Memorial Fund, and will be used for emergency treatment of needy Negro children.
Mr. and Mrs. Cloar have been active
supporters of the
They also commended the physicians for their tireless efforts in Florence Mae’s behalf. Mrs. Cloar is a charter member of the hospital auxiliary and a volunteer worker.
HEART ATTACK FATAL TO EARLE RESIDENT
Mr. SAUL
STEIN, 77, died Wednesday morning around
Mr. Stein was born
He is survived by his two sons, George and
Pete, and one grandson, George Raymond Stein of Earle. Service will be held today in
FATHER OF LOCAL RESIDENT DIES
Mr. H.
B. STEWART of
Beside Mr. Stewart of Earle, he leaves a
son, James Stewart of
EARLE FARMER DIES
IN
Funeral Services were held Wednesday
afternoon at the National Funeral Home in
Mr. Tremmell,
who had been engaged in farming in and near the Earle community for the past 20
years had suffered a stroke at his home two months ago and was taken to the
Mr.
Trammel was a member of the
He leaves his wife, Mrs. Helen Tremmell; two sons, Frank and William; two daughters, Alice
and Louise of Earle. Two
brothers and five sisters of
J. A. WALKER
JAMES
ALEXANDER WALKER, a former Earle resident, a retired farmer of
Mr. Walker was born and reared at
He is survived by two daughters, Mrs.
JOHNNIE N. WALKER
Services for JOHNIE N. WALKER, father of L. C. Walker of Earle, who died in a
Mr. Walker, who was 72, was born near Bebee and lived near there for 37 years. He lived in
B. F. WILSON
Mr. B.
F. WILSON, 91, a resident of Earle for the past several years died at his
home here, Thursday Dec. 25, at
SERVICES HELD
Services were held Wednesday afternoon at
He leaves his wife, Mrs. Mary Grace Wilson
of Earle; three daughters, Bonnie Faye Wilson of Earle, Mrs. R. M. Cadwell of Paragould, Ark., and Mrs. James Annis of
Memphis; three sons, I. L. Wilson Jr., of Memphis, and Charles Wilson of Flint,
Mich.; and Don Wilson with the Air Force stationed in Wyoming. A brother, Les Wilson of
“UNCLE TOM” IS DEAD; WAS A BELOVED NEGRO CHARACTER
Uncle TOM
WOOLRIDGE is dead. He was 83, or thereabouts, and had lived a long and
useful life. He died at his home here
Tuesday morning at
For years, he enjoyed a position of trust, with the Earle State Bank, as janitor, this trust he accepted and obeyed until “30” marked the end of his career. It has fallen our lot to chronicle his death of important personages but we find ourself at a loss when we try to put down in black and white the loss of an institution. Tom was that. He depicted the South as we would remember it. Had “Uncle Tom” walked out of the novel of Harriett Beecher Stowe, he would have been in character the day he died and would have gladly steered any Little Eliza’s across the ice of present day misfortunes.
We hate to see Tom depart, just as we hate
to see our stately oaks, hickorys and forests
depart. These will never come again and
missing him on the streets of Earle will be one of the lost heritages we have
cherished. Funeral services will be held
on Sunday afternoon at
WINDERS’ HOME IS DESTROYED BY FIRE
The Earle Volunteer Fire Department has
had a flurry of alarms in the past two weeks with the majority being of no
consequences. However,
an alarm which was out of their jurisdiction proved to be the most serious of
recent months. On Thursday of last
week, the Department answered a call on the
According to reports, Mrs. Winders was starting a fire in the cook stove apparently using kerosene or tractor fuel, when it exploded. Clothing afire, she ran screaming from the kitchen and a tragedy was averted due to the prompt action of her husband when he smothered the flames on her person with a quilt. Children of the family also narrowly escaped injury. Mrs. Winders was rushed to the hospital and at present writing seems free of serious consequence.
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