Obituaries
Betty J. Griffin
ROYAL — Betty Jo Griffin, age 86, of Royal, died Monday, Oct. 28, 2019.
The arrangements will be announced by Davis-Smith Funeral Home, Hot Springs.
Mary M. White
RICHMOND, Mo. — Mary Martha White, 96, of Richmond, Mo., passed away on Oct. 27, 2019.
She was born at home on the family farm in Egypt Township, north of Norborne, Mo., to T. Chester White and Clementina Rust White.
Mary attended Chapel Hill Country School, a rural oneroom school through eighth grade and graduated from Norborne High School in the class of 1940. She earned her Bachelors in Nutrition from the University of Missouri, Columbia. Mary went on to work in clerical, research and computational positions in New York City and Washington, D.C., before moving to Houston to be near her sister. There she worked as a substitute teacher, an elementary school teacher and in the field of social work.
Having no children of her own, she was devoted to expanding the horizons of her nieces and nephews with visits to the big city, museums, shows, books and more. As a young adult, Mary enjoyed traveling extensively and learning about many cultures.
Mary enjoyed cooking, cooking shows and cookbooks. She really enjoyed chocolate, and not just any chocolate, only the best!
An avid country auction attendee, she would frequently find unique items that she shared with friends and family, not the least being really fine cast iron. All things textile fascinated her, too. She was especially interested in lace work, knitting, weaving and sewing.
When Mary’s father passed, she returned to her hometown to live with her mother until her death. A few years later, she married Bushrod Rust and they moved to Hot Springs, Ark., where she lived until recently.
Mary had several cats in her lifetime to whom she was truly devoted. She was so good to her cats, that people said they wanted to come back as one of her cats.
A great conversationalist, Mary never met a stranger. She would strike up conversations everywhere she went and was genuinely interested in hearing people’s stories. Mary really was as good a listener as a talker.
In her later years, she was a regular book club member and belonged to the American Association of University Women.
Mary was preceded in death by her husband, Bushrod Rust; her ex-husband, Ike Arneson; sister, Narcissa Saadeh; brother, Thomas White; and brother-in-law, Fuad Saadeh.
She is survived by her sister-in-law, Bernice White, and numerous nieces and nephews and their spouses and children.
The loving attention and care she received in her later years from Shirkey’s Nursing and Rehab Center and Shirkey’s Hospice is greatly appreciated.
In lieu of flowers, gifts may be made to Animal Welfare Institute, 900 Pennsylvania Ave., Washington, DC 20003.
Graveside inurnment with services to be held at a later date in Antioch Cemetery, Norborne.
Thurman Funeral Home in Richmond is in charge of arrangements. Please share your memories of Mary by visiting http://www.thurmanfuneralhome.com.