DALLAS — Claude Mayo “Sonny” Erwin III,

died on January 27, 2020, in Dallas, Texas. Born in Newport on September 14, 1938, to Claude Mayo Erwin Jr., and Mildred Sloan Erwin, Sonny was descended from Thomas Todd Tunstall, the founder of Jacksonport, which made him a sixth-generation Jackson Countian. His great-grandparents were Dr. Marion Mayo Erwin and Katherine America Erwin, another old Jackson County Family.

Sonny graduated from Newport High School in 1956 and from Arkansas State University in Jonesboro. Born a Methodist, he joined St. Paul’s Episcopal Church as an adult, where he served as Treasurer of the vestry. He was also a board member of the Jackson County Historical Society. After farming for several years in Jackson County, he moved to Little Rock where he worked at the State Capitol until his retirement. He was a Democrat and an ardent supporter of Bill and Hillary Clinton.

An accomplished art collector with a discriminating eye, Sonny traveled the world collecting fine art, most of which he donated to the Arkansas State University Foundation’s Southern Print Exhibit. He was never happier that when sitting in some small cafe in London, Paris, or Rome, regaling his friends with funny stories about his many adventures. His life-long devotion to his family brought him home for special occasions, holidays, and celebrations, and he could go from being the life of the party to being a tender uncle or cousin as the need arose.

In later years, Sonny developed a keen interest in Shape Note Singing, and he traveled with groups many times all over the country and to Europe to learn new techniques and to perform concerts. He will be missed and remembered fondly by a host of family and friends.

Survivors include a brother, Circuit Judge Harold Sloan Erwin (Ronnie Kay); a niece, Kilby Erwin Raptopoulos (Louis); great-nephew and niece, Hayden Erwin Raptopoulos and Avery Elizabeth Raptopoulos; as well as a large extended family of cousins and friends.

A private graveside service will be held at Walnut Grove Cemetery in Newport on Friday, February 7, 2020, at 2 p.m., with classmate and life-long friend, Senator Kaneaster Hodges presiding. Memorials may be made to the Jackson County Historical Society. P.O. Box 711, Newport, Ark. 72112. Arrangements by Jackson’s Newport Funeral Home. www.jacksonsfh.com.