Pulaski County

M. MURLA (MARILYN) AMBRUS, 67, of Little Rock, passed away March 29, 2013. She leaves to cherish her memories her daughter, Alicia Ambrus of Houston; two grandsons, Marvin and Corey Wicks of Little Rock; one granddaughter, Kelli Grant (Chane) of New York; three sisters, Brenda C. Williams and Ruth Williams (Tom) of Las Vegas and Sadie Minor (Booker) of Maumelle; one brother, Willie Williams of Little Rock. Funeral services will be Friday, April 5, 2013, 11 a.m. at Christ Temple Cathedral Church, 1920 Arch St., Little Rock. The family will receive friends Thursday, April 4, 2013 from 6 until 7 p.m. at the funeral home. Services entrusted to Premier Funeral Home, 1518 S. Battery St., Little Rock, Ark. 72202. (501) 376-4800. “Only Heaven Can Serve You Better!”

KENNETH WAYNE FARISH, 70, of Sherwood passed away Sunday, March 31, 2013. He was born in Cabot, Ark., to the late Ralph E. Farish Sr. and Gladys Elder Farish. Kenneth is preceded in death by his parents and sister, Bobby Jean Crone.

He retired after 25 years in the Marine and Air Force Reserves; he also retired after 31 years from Teletype and AT&T. Kenneth was of Baptist faith and was a member of APA Pool Association. He enjoyed shooting pool, fishing and being with his family.

He is survived by his wife of 50 years, Johnnie Mae Shelton Farish; his children, Kenneth Farish Jr. (Victoria) of Jonesboro and Julie Tyhurst of Sherwood; six grandchildren, Jamie and Caeli Waldron, Luke Tyhurst, and Grace, Olivia and Ava Farish; his sister, Lula Berryman of Little Rock; two brothers, Carlos Farish (Linda) of Benton and Gene Farish (Sue) of Little Rock; and a host of other family and friends.

Graveside service held at 10 a.m. Friday, April 5, 2013 at Arkansas State Veterans’ Cemetery with Military Honors. The family will receive friends from 6-8 p.m. Wednesday, April 3, 2013 at Roller-Owens Funeral Home, 5509 John F. Kennedy Blvd., North Little Rock, Ark. 72116. Online Guestbook www.rollerfuneralhomes.

FREDDIE MACK FLYNN, 78, of Little Rock passed away March 27, 2013. He was born in Humphrey, Ark., on May 16, 1934 to Raymond and Florence Flynn. Fred served 12 ½ years in the U.S. Air Force and was a construction business owner until retirement.

He is survived by his wife, Maxine Waldo Flynn, of 34 years; daughter Regina Spence (Dale); one grandson, Erik Cardwell; two sisters, Marybeth Myers and Edith Reynolds; one brother, Raymond Flynn; along with a host of other relatives and friends.

The family will receive friends from 1 p.m. until 2 p.m. Wednesday, April 3, 2013 at Roller-Chenal Funeral Home, 13801 Chenal Parkway, Little Rock, (501) 2248300.

Memorial services will follow the visitation at 2 p.m. on Wednesday at the funeral home. In lieu of flowers the family requests memorials be made to VFW Post 9095, 1121 Gamble Road, Little Rock, Ark. 72211, (501) 225-9849. Online guestbook: www.rollerfuneralhomes. com/chenal.

CHARLES HENRY FOWLER, 82, of Little Rock died March 30, 2013. He was born in Newton, Texas to the late John Henry Fowler and Ruby Lee Davis Fowler Cornes. He was also preceded in death by his siblings James L. Fowler, John W. Fowler and Becke Betz.

He is survived by his sons, Michael D. Fowler (Deborah) of Little Rock, Charles Keith Fowler of Bryant, Randy W. Fowler of Little Rock and Thomas D. Fowler (Melba) of Call, Texas; daughter, Lori Lee McCowen (Ricky) of Little Rock; brother Lloyd (Hoss) Fowler of BonWier, Texas; sisters Marilyn I. Walton (Glen) of Amarillo, Texas, and Libby Fowler of Romance, Ark.; 16 grandchildren and 26 great-grandchildren.

Visitation will be this evening, Tuesday, April 2 from 6-8 p.m. at Little Rock Funeral Home, 8801 Knoedl Ct. (NW corner I-630 and Barrow Rd.). Graveside services will be held on Thursday, April 4 at 2 p.m. at Ford Cemetery in Newton, Texas.

Arrangements by Little Rock Funeral Home, (501) 224-2200. Mr. Fowler’s online guestbook may be signed at www.littlerockfuneralhome.com.

JAMES E. JOHNSON, 77, of Jacksonville passed away on Saturday, March 30, 2013. He was born April 14, 1935 in Little Rock to the late James Earl Johnson and Amanda Elizabeth Johnson.

He was preceded in death by his wife, Jeanette E. Johnson, the mother of his children, and his second wife, Patricia Johnson. He is survived by his children, Jimmy Johnson, Connie Devan and husband Wayne, Elizabeth Thompson and husband Gary, Michael Johnson and wife Pam; step-children, Eddie Wilkes and wife Sharon, Rick Wilkes; seven grandchildren and numerous great-grandchildren.

Graveside services will be 2 p.m. Thursday, April 4, 2013 at Pinecrest Memorial Park in Alexander. Arrangements by Moore’s Jacksonville Funeral Home & Crematory (501) 9822136. Sign online guestbook at www.mooresjacksonvillefuneralhome.

MARY SUE CLARK MALCOLM was born May 2, 1920 in Hope, Ark., lived in Gurdon until she was 12, and then moved with her parents, Harry D. and Mary E. Clark, to North Little Rock, where she attended North Little Rock schools. Mary Sue was a lively and headstrong young woman, determined to educate herself and launch herself into life.

She attended Arkansas State Teachers College in Conway in 1938 (named ASTC Parents Day Queen) and graduated from Henderson State Teachers College in 1942 (named Honorary Cadet Major of the ROTC). While a student at Henderson, she met the love of her life and husband of 66 years, Red Malcolm, who was leaning over a pinball machine in The Colonial Tavern in Arkadelphia in 1941. Mary Sue signed up for a kinesiology class to further evaluate Red—a decision she called “one of the best in my life” —and they married in September, 1943.

During the War, Mary Sue worked at Twin City Bank in North Little Rock, lived with her parents, and waited for Red to return from China. In 1946, Sue and Red moved to Eudora, Ark., where they both taught school. The two lived in New York City, where Dusty (as he had become known in Eudora) finished a master’s degree in education at Columbia.

Their first child was born in 1951, and the couple moved to St. Louis for dental school at Washington University They lived at Edgewood Children’s Center and cared for emotionally disturbed children. They also had two more children of their own. Sue and Dusty moved to Little Rock in 1956, where they began Dusty’s dental practice, bought a house, joined St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church, raised their kids, and lived the rest of their wonderful life together. She and Dusty were profoundly in love with each other through their 66 years together.

Sue was always a go-getter with a large circle of friends and activities. She worked in Dusty’s dental practice keeping the books; became one of the first female elders in the Presbyterian Church; worked in the STOP campaign during Little Rock’s desegregation crisis; worked for over 35 years as a volunteer at the UA Med Center; played in two bridge clubs; and raised her three sons. Sue had, in her words, a “happy, good life.”

Sue acquired a salty vocabulary from her father, and with three boys, she had many occasions to use it. She ran a tight ship in a house full of males and always wondered what her life would have been like had her and Dusty’s daughter, Jean Ann, lived past her first few days. Sue and Dusty were full and welcome participants in the lives of their kids, their church, and their friends.

Like many women of her generation, Sue believed that mother and housekeeper were honorable roles that she worked hard at. She once vowed that she would “leave the world a little cleaner than I found it.” And so she did. Sue was a bright spark in her sons’ and her friends’ lives. She is survived by three sons, Jim, Alan, and Clark; their wives, Bea, Nancy, and Judy; and five grandchildren, Ian, Caitlin, Anna, Russell, and Andy. We will all miss her.

A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. on Saturday, April 6, 2013 at Westover Hills Presbyterian Church, officiated by Rev. Debbie Freeman. The family will receive guests from 10 a.m. until 11 a.m. prior to the service.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Presbyterian Village, 510 Brookside Drive, Little Rock, Ark. 72205 or Westover Hills Presbyterian Church, 6400 Kavanaugh Blvd., Little Rock, Ark. 72205. Arrangements by Ruebel Funeral Home. www.ruebelfuneralhome.com.

JEMIMA MAE McDONALD, age 93, of Little Rock, Ark., passed away Friday, March 29, 2013. She was born Sept. 28, 1919 in Gravelly, Ark., to William and Hattie Billingsley.

She is preceded in death by her parents, one brother, one sister and one son. She is survived by two sons, Willie Don McDonald and wife Ruth Ann of Alexander, and Danny McDonald of Little Rock; one granddaughter, Donna Hamilton and husband Bud; and two great-grandchildren, Kyle and Jade Hamilton, all of Alexander; and two sisters, Wilma and Norma Billingsley, both of Harrison.

She was a member of Rosedale Baptist Church of Little Rock. The family would like to thank all of the staff at Valley Ranch for the loving care and support they provided over the past few years. Graveside services will be held 2 p.m. Wednesday, April 3, 2013 at Pinecrest Memorial Park, Alexander, Ark. Arrangements are by Roller-Drummond Funeral Home, 10900 I-30, Little Rock, Ark., (501) 455-5800. Online guestbook: www.rollerfuneralhomes.

YOUNG MADISON ORSBURN, 96, of North Little Rock died March 31, 2013. He was born at Okolona, Ark., the son of Madison Monroe and Mattie Eleanor Young Orsburn. His employment spanned a period of 46 years, with 32 of those years with the Arkansas Rehabilitation Services and 38 years devoted to the service for the handicapped. He retired from the Rehabilitation Services in 1981. Work with the Service began in 1950 as a counselor in the Forth Smith office. In 1955 he was promoted to supervisor of the 31-county Western Arkansas areas. In 1967 he was promoted to Administrator, Physical Restoration, of the Little Rock state office. He set up the operating procedures for the Arkansas Rehabilitation Services/Arkansas Kidney Disease Commission joint program to serve end-stage renal disease cases. As that program’s first Administrator, coupled with his rehabilitation work, he served until his retirement in 1981. The kidney disease program was the first of its kind in the United States.

Young graduated valedictorian from Okolona High School and received a BA degree from Henderson State Teacher’s College, now Henderson State University at Arkadelphia, Ark. His MS degree in Education/Counselor Education was completed at the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville. Advance courses in Physical Medicine/Rehabilitation were completed at New York University. Upon graduating from Separation-Classification School Adjutant General’s Department, he was assigned by the U.S. Army as a WWII Counselor separating injured veterans from service. Other training included: Management in Rehabilitation, Oklahoma State University, Prosthetics-Orthotics, University of California, Los Angeles, and other training in the use of Medical Consultants in Rehabilitation. From 1945-1950 he was Assistant Chief of the Advisement & Guidance, and Occupational Rating Partner Veterans Administration, Little Rock. Prior to WWII he was Principal at Delight Public Schools, Superintendent of Central Nevada County Public Schools, followed by two years as an administrator with the War Relocation Authority relocating Japanese Americans who had been interned in the Jerome and Rowher Centers. It was his strong conviction that the displacement of the loyal Japanese Americans, during the WWII years, was an injustice unprecedented in the annals of our American history.

In 1974, as a member of the National Institute of Rehabilitation Issues, the lead study group for the Rehabilitation Services Administration, he dealt with problems of rehabilitating the severely handicapped. In 1975, he was Chairman of the Prime Study Group that approached the influence of Consumer Involvement in Rehabilitation. In 1976, as National Chairman of the Institute, he led studies on the Homebound Severely Handicapped, Utilization of Institute Publications, and the Role of Facilities in Rehabilitation. All of these studies were published and made available to state rehabilitation programs.

Orsburn completed a national survey on end-stage renal disease clients for the 50 state Rehabilitation Administrator’s Council, and served as the Arkansas representative to the Regional Advisory Council, Texas Institute of Rehabilitation and Research, Houston, Texas. He was president, Region VI, National Rehabilitation Association, and a life member of that organization as well as the Arkansas chapter. He belonged to the Arkansas Retired Teachers Association; was secretary, Arkansas Retired Teachers Housing, Inc., vice president of the board of the Museum of Automobiles, Petit Jean Mountain. Other affiliations included president, Mid-America Old Time Car Club, the Fort Smith Antique Car Club, and the Arkansas Antique Car Club, Little Rock. The 2009 annual car show at the Museum of Automobiles honored Young for his dedication and service to the Mid-America Club. He was a past vice president of the Fort Smith Exchange Club, a member of Belle Point Lodge, Fort Smith and a 32nd degree mason of the Western Arkansas Scottish Rite for over 58 years.

His name and career summary are entered as a charter honoree in the special edition of the National Distinguished Registry, Medical and Vocational Rehabilitation, for service to the handicapped. He was the recipient of the prestigious Voyle Scurlock award, the top Southwest Region honor for outstanding leadership in service to the handicapped.

As a member of Lakewood United Methodist Church, North Little Rock, Ark, he served on the administrative board, the board of trustees, treasurer, and as president and teacher of the George Martin Sunday School Class. Many years were spent on other Methodist church boards and as Adult School Superintendent, Chairman of church board, scoutmaster, and president of the Men’s Club, Fort Smith Methodist. He was a certified Lay speaker. Love of family, friends, and his church were paramount in his life.

Among his hobbies, the restoration of antique automobiles was his favorite. To restore an old automobile to its original state was a joy to him. He was a member of the original group that set up a non-profit unit to incorporate and establish The Museum of Automobiles the successor to the Winthrop Rockefeller Museum atop Petit Jean Mountain.

Young’s wonderful wife, Lucille, of 67 years preceded him in death. He is survived by four daughters: Reinhardt (Nelson, deceased), Cecillia Gelzine (Joe), both of Little Rock; Ellen Brown (Jim) of North Little Rock, Martha Best (Rob) of Sherwood. Eight grandchildren: Charlotte Downs, Nicole Held (Brad), Angela Gelzine Staerk (Robert), Craig Reinhardt, Jennifer Morrison (Mike), Stephanie Bearden (Tim), Lisa Raney, Kyle Brown and step-children Leigh Austin (Aaron), Beau Best (Franziska), James Brown (Rosa), Debbie Fahlsing (David); 12 great-grandchildren, Michaela and Michael Held, Zachary and Emily Staerk, Madison Bearden, Samantha Morrison, Franky and Chirstina Brown, Natalie and Heather Smith, Noah Best, and Nate Austin.

A celebration of his life will be held at 11 a.m. Thursday, April 4, 2013 in the sanctuary of Lakewood United Methodist Church with Rev. Richard Lancaster officiating under the direction of Griffin Leggett-Rest Hills Funeral Home. Burial will follow at Griffin Leggett-Rest Hills Memorial Park.

The family will receive friends from 6 to 8 p.m. Wednesday at Griffin Leggett-Rest Hills Funeral Home, 7724 Landers Road, North Little Rock (501) 835-3515.

Memorials to Lakewood United Methodist Church, North Little Rock, 1922 Topf Road, North Little Rock, Ark. 72116 or Museum of Automobiles, 8 Jones Lane, Petit Jean Mountain, Morrilton, Ark. 72110. The online obituary, guestbook, and memorial tribute are available at www.griffinleggettresthills.com.

CHERYL LYNN SPANGLER, 55, of Little Rock passed away March 31, 2013. Visitation will be Wednesday, April 3 from 5-8 p.m. at Little Rock Funeral Home, 8801 Knoedl Ct. (NW corner I-630 and Barrow Rd.). Services will be Thursday at 7 p.m. at Fellowship Bible Church. Graveside services will take place at Williams Cemetery in Leroy, Ohio. Arrangements by Little Rock Funeral Home, (501) 224-2200. Cheryl’s online guestbook may be signed at www.littlerockfuneralhome.com.

BOBBY GENE VAIL, age 80 of Little Rock, Ark., passed away March 31, 2013 at home. He was born on Oct. 27, 1932 in Banks, Ark.; he was the son of Robert L. Vail and Elsie Vail. Bobby retired from the Navy after 20 years of service and also retired from the Federal Reserve Bank after 20 years of service. He was a member of Lifeline Baptist Church and enjoyed fishing and spending time with family.

He is preceded in death by parents, one brother, John Kenneth, and one sister, Louise Armstrong. Survivors include his wife of 59 years, Margie Lorene Vail; two daughters, Barbara Howard and Debbie Vail; one son, Charles Vail (Christy); three grandsons, Michael and Wesley Cason and Timothy McElveen; one granddaughter, Amanda Best; two great-granddaughters, Camryn and Grace Cason; one great-grandson, Jacob McElveen, and a host of other friends and relatives.

Memorial services will be held at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, April 3, 2013 at Huson Funeral Home Chapel in Little Rock, Ark. Burial will follow at Arkansas State Veterans’ Cemetery in North Little Rock, Ark. Visitation will be Tuesday, April 2, 2013 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Huson Funeral Home Chapel in Little Rock, Ark. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Cancer Research Centers. Sign an online guest book at www.husonfuneralhome.com.