Obituaries
Notice of passing FRENCHIE HEGWOOD
Frenchie Hegwood, 83, of Smackover died Monday, Jan. 15, 2018 at the John R. Williamson Hospice House.
Arrangements by Andrews Funeral Home.
DOLORES SAMS
Dolores Sams, 85, of El Dorado passed away on Monday, Jan. 15, 2018 at Timberlane Health and Rehabilitation.
Funeral arrangements will be announced by Young’s Funeral Directors.
LUE E. STANLEY
Lue E. Stanley, 74, of El Dorado passed away on Jan. 13, 2018 at his home.
Arrangements for funeral service will be announced by Sims Mortuary, Inc.
Reminder of services MAUREEN BOONE
Maureen Boone, 77, of Junction City, passed away on Jan. 10, 2018.
Funeral will be held at 1 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 20, 2018 at New Mt. Union Baptist Church in Junction City.
Burial will be at Junction City Community Cemetery. Paradie Funeral Home of Bernice, Louisiana is handling arrangements.
NORMA J. PHELPS
Norma Joyce Phelps, 86, passed away on Friday, Jan. 12, 2018.
Funeral services will be held at 10 a.m. today at Young’s Chapel. Burial will be in Rest Haven Memorial Gardens under the direction of Young’s Funeral Directors.
Obituaries JOHN S. BENSON, SR.
John Schuler McKinney Benson, Sr., 90 of El Dorado passed away Friday, Jan. 12, 2018, in Little Rock. He was born on Feb. 20, 1927, to Ralph N. and Carrie S. Benson in El Dorado.
He attended
El Dorado public schools and graduated from Riverside
Military Academy in Gainesville, Georgia.
He was appointed and graduated from the
United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland in 1949. After graduation he served active duty in the Korean War on a mine sweeper. Before leaving the service he obtained the rank of Lieutenant.
John Schuler returned to El Dorado and in 1950, started a long career at Ritchie Grocer Company. He became President and Chairman of the Board before retiring in 2013, after 63 years of service to the company.
As an active member of the community he served on a number of civic organizations. He served as President of the El Dorado Boys Club, Chairman of the Union District of the De Soto Area Council of the Boy Scouts of America, Chairman of the Salvation Army Advisory Board, President of the Rotary Club, Director and Vice President of the Union County American Red Cross, Chairman of the Auditorium Commission, Director of the Chamber of Commerce and Justice of the Peace.
His favorite pastime activities included duck hunting, music, reading, travel, snow skiing, tennis, horses and his “farm” where he spent many hours raising ducks, geese and swans. He always had a work project going and those who ventured down to the farm, whether family or friends, were soon put to work.
He was a member of First Presbyterian Church since 1927.
Preceding him in death are his parents; three sisters, Mary Eleanor Buckley, Helen Lee Cox, Caroline Calder; and a son, Ralph Lee Benson.
Survivors are three sons, John Schuler McKinney Benson, Jr. (Andrea), Stone Schuler Benson, and William Lee Benson, all of El Dorado. Three grandchildren, John Schuler McKinney Benson III (Celeste) of Columbia, South Carolina, Mary Eleanor Gathright (Clint) of El Dorado, and William Garrett Benson of Little Rock, and two great grandchildren, Eleanor Kathryn Larson and Isaac Shackleford Larson of El Dorado, and many nieces and nephews.
Visitation will be held from 5 until 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 16, 2018, at Young’s Funeral Directors. A Memorial Service will be held at 2 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 17, 2018 in the sanctuary of First Presbyterian Church with Mike Dumas officiating. A private family interment will be held at 11 a.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 17, 2018 under the direction of Young’s.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Alzheimer’s Association, P.O. Box 96011, Washington D.C., 20090-6011.
An online guest registry will be available at www.youngsfuneralhome.com.
RICK MORRIS
Rick Morris, age 51, won his battle with cancer on Jan. 12, 2018 at the John R. Williamson Hospice House after battling cancer since 2006.
Rick was born in El
Dorado on Dec. 28,
1966, the son of John Thomas Morris and
Betty Jean Winthorp.
Rick loved to duck hunt, deer hunt and retreiver training. He was a member of Norphlet
United Methodist Church.
Preceding him in death is his father, Johnny Morris; grandparents, L.T. Morris, VeeVee Morris, and Wanda Smith; uncle, Steve Greene.
Those left to cherish his memories is his wife, Stacie Morris; mother, Betty Winthorp (Jerry); daughter, Ashlynn Wills (Weston); son, Tyler Morris; service dog, Jeepers Morris; brother, Clint Morris (Christine).
Visitations will be held from 11:30 a.m. until 1:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 17, 2018 at Norphlet United Methodist Church. Followed by Memorial Service.
Cremation provided by Perry’s Funeral Chapels.
Online guest registry at www.perrysfuneralchapels.com.
(The deadline for full obituaries for the next day’s newspaper is 4 p.m. The deadline for death notices is 5 p.m. the day prior to publication. Obituaries submitted after these deadlines will not be published the next day, but will run in the following day’s newspaper. For more information about costs of obituaries and photos, call 870-862-6611.)