OBITUARIES
Jack Franklin Allen
Jack Franklin Allen, 79, passed away after a biking accident Aug. 19, 2016, near his home in Bella Vista, Ark. He was born Oct. 4, 1936, to John and Ruth Allen in Ottawa, Kan.
He married his wife, Shirley Allen, April 2, 1956, and later graduated from Ottawa University. From 1960 to 1962, they lived in Germany while he served honorably in the U.S. Army. He enjoyed a 30-year career with IBM. In retirement, he stayed very active, volunteering with AARP and Crystal Bridges Museum, and attending Bella Vista Community Church.
He is survived by his wife, Shirley Allen; two children, Scott Allen and wife Rochelle and Laura Parker and husband Keith; and three grandchildren, Lauren Allen, Brandon and Nathan Buyce.
Services were held Tuesday, Aug. 23, at Bella Vista Funeral Home with visitation prior to the funeral service.
The family has requested that, in lieu of flowers, memorial contributions be sent to Bella Vista Community Church at 75 E. Lancaster Blvd., Bella Vista, AR 72714.
Online condolences may be made at www.funeralmation.com.
Bella Vista Funeral Home of Bella Vista was in charge of arrangements.
Carolyn Roberta Seeck
Carolyn Roberta Seeck (nee Dodge), 87, died Aug. 16, 2016, in Lenexa, Kan. She was born Oct. 26, 1928, in St. Elmo, Ala.
A long-time resident of Elmhurst, Ill., and Bella Vista, Ark., she was a devoted wife, loving mother and proud grandmother.
As a young woman, she worked as a switchboard operator and bookkeeper. She served as an Area Director of the Girl Scouts. She was active in the Episcopal altar guild, the Daughters of the King, and her church community. She was a member of the Embroiderer’s Guild and was an accomplished seamstress and avid reader. Her passions included gardening, bird- and cloud-watching, dancing with her husband and visiting the state parks to enjoy fall colors. She will be remembered for her strong faith, warm smiles and loving hugs.
She was preceded in death by her husband of 65 years, Ralph T. Seeck; and daughter Janice Wesley.
She is survived by two daughters, Valerie Miller and husband William, and Sharon Barkin; and four grandchildren, Amy Miller, Brent Miller and wife Anya, Kirsten Barkin and Zachary Barkin.
A memorial was held Monday, Aug. 22, at Covenant Place of Lenexa, Kan.
Our Savior Episcopal Church in Elmhurst, Ill., will conduct a burial service at Chapel Hill Gardens in Oak Brook Terrace, Ill., at a later date to be determined.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to St. Theodore’s (Memo: Carrie Seeck Organ Fund) at 1001 Kingsland Rd., Bella Vista, AR 72714.
Online condolences may be expressed at www. amosfamily.com.
Raymond “Ray” D. Waier
Raymond “Ray” D. Waier, 82, died Aug. 14, 2016, in Bella Vista, Ark. He was born Dec. 16, 1933, and raised in Milwaukee, Wis., by his parents, Raymond and Alice Waier.
After high school, he proudly served in the U.S. Coast Guard and later attended North Central College in Naperville, Ill., where he met Elizabeth (Modder) Waier, his beloved wife of 61 years.
He graduated from Eastern Michigan University and later earned his doctorate in education administration from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He was a lifelong learner and educator.
He first worked as a teacher and principal before serving as a superintendent in the Wisconsin school districts of Juneau, Brown Deer, Mount Horeb and Milwaukee. He also worked as the top administrator for school districts in Grand Junction, Colo., and North Kansas City, Mo. As district superintendent in Kirkwood, Mo., he helped integrate the schools. After more than 40 years working for public education, he retired and moved to Northwest Arkansas.
He helped raise four children while working. He and his family always had a dog, and while he didn’t always have horses, he remembered fondly the ones he trained.
He was an amateur historian and writer who never stopped learning about the world he lived in and the past that shaped it. An avid reader, golfer and traveler, he shared his interests as a loving and generous grandfather.
He is survived by his loving wife, Elizabeth; four children, Saundra Barker and husband Phil, Eric Waier, Heidi Knipp and husband Gene, and Kurt Waier and wife Cynthia; brother Bruce Waier; 10 grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren.
Visitation was held Friday, Aug. 19, 2016. A memorial service followed at Bella Vista Funeral Home Chapel.
Memorials may be made to Southern Poverty Law Center, 400 Washington Avenue, Montgomery, AL or Bella Vista Animal Shelter, 32 Bella Vista Way, Bella Vista, AR 72714
Online condolences may be made at www.funeralmation.com.
Mary Evelyn R. White
Mary Evelyn R. White died on Aug. 16, 2016, in Kansas City, Mo., of cancer. She was born Oct. 5, 1926, to Charles and Gladys Miller in Pleasanton, Texas, and was later adopted by her stepfather, George Andre Rauer.
She was a graduate of Cornell University and a member of Sigma Kappa. As a teenager in New York, she volunteered at Columbia Presbyterian Hospital. Later in New Jersey, she was a volunteer at Rahway Hospital and at the Colonia Library. She married Francis B. White in 1952. In Randolph, N.J., she was active in the PTA and served on the Board of Education.
After retirement to Arkansas, she served on the Board of Directors of Bella Vista and was a Habitat volunteer. She moved to Kansas after her husband died in 1997.
She is survived by sons, Lt. Col. (Ret.) Daniel White and wife Kaija, and Dr. Thomas White and wife Meko; and six grandchildren, Micah White, Kaitlin and husband Michael, and Halladay, Anna, Elena and Leif White.
Her memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 27, at Hope Lutheran Church, at the corner of Quivira Road and Shawnee Mission Parkway in Shawnee, Kan. Visitation will start at 10 a.m.
In lieu of flowers, the family suggests memorials be sent to the Hope Lutheran Church School Endowment Fund, the University of Kansas Cancer Center or another charity of your choice.
Condolences may be expressed at www.porterfuneralhome.com.
Arrangements are by Porter Funeral Homes and Crematory in Lenexa, Kan.
Robert Nelson DuBois
Robert Nelson DuBois, 77, died Aug. 19, 2016, at Circle of Life Hospice in Bentonville, Ark.
He was born March 25, 1939, in Omaha, Neb., to Ted and June DuBois. He and his family moved to California in 1971 and then to Arkansas in July 1972.
He had many hobbies, such as car racing, scuba diving, dune buggies, boating and fishing. He worked in all kinds of construction most of his life and ended his career as a building contractor.
He was preceded in death by his father, Ted DuBois; a brother, Roger DuBois; and a sister, Shirley Wafford.
He is survived by his wife, Babe DuBois, of Bella Vista, Ark.; his mother, June DuBois, of Bentonville; sister Michelle Dennett of Bentonville; brother Jack DuBois of Noel, Mo.; and numerous grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
A memorial service will be held at a later date.