Obituaries
Notice of Passing WILLIE MILLER
Willie Miller, 94, of El Dorado passed away Aug. 9, 2018 at his residence.
Arrangements for funeral service will be announced by Sims Mortuary.
Reminder of Services MELINDA C. GODSEY
Funeral services for Melinda Cameron Godsey, 64, of El Dorado will be held at 10:30 a.m. today at St. Mary’s Episcopal Church with Father Charles Chapman and Father Robert Wetherington officiating.
Cremation services entrusted to Young’s Funeral Directors. Memorials may be made to UAMS Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute, 4301 West Markham St., Little Rock, AR, 72205 or to St. Mary’s Episcopal Church, 512 ChampagnolleRoad, El Dorado, AR 71730.
ZANE J. HARROL
Funeral service for Zane J. Harrol, 73, of El Dorado will be held on Saturday, Aug. 11, 2018 at 10 a.m. at New Home Baptist Church in Lillie, Louisiana with the Rev. Larry Andrews officiating. Burial will follow in New Home Cemetery in Lillie under the direction of Andrews Funeral Home. Public viewing will be from 1 until 5 p.m. on Friday.
A.E. MCCASKILL
Graveside services for A.E. “Sam” McCaskill, 88, of El Dorado will be held at 10 a.m. today at Arlington Memorial Park with Kay Ruddell officiating. Services under the direction of Bailey Funeral Home of El Dorado, AR.
Please visit www.baileyfuneralhome.net to sign the online register book.
VIRGINIA B. STALLINGS
Visitation for Virgina Beth Risinger Stallings, 82, of St. Peters, Missouri will be Friday, August 10, 2018 at 1 p.m. at the church with funeral services at 2 p.m. at East Faulkner Church of Christ, 930 East Faulkner in El Dorado, with Scott Johnson officiating. Due to the heat of south Arkansas, there will be no graveside service. Arrangements are under the direction of Bailey Funeral Home of El Dorado.
In lieu of flowers memorials may be made to East Faulkner Church of Christ or the charity of the donor’s choice.
Please visit www.baileyfuneralhome.net to sign the online register book.
Obituaries DAPHENE BRASWELL
Daphene “Mimi” Braswell, 92 of Hot Springs, formerly of Smackover and Marysville passed away Tuesday,
Aug. 7, 2018 in Hot
Springs.
Born
June 27,
1926 in Spotsville, to John William
“Will” Nesbit and Jewell Terrell Nesbit. She retired from Mt. Holly school district after 25 years and worked briefly for Weyerhaeuser in Magnolia. Daphene loved being a homemaker, crocheting and quilting and most of all she loved spending time with her grandchildren.
Preceding her in death are her parents, her husband, Quentin R. Braswell; a sister, Chlorie Gunnels and three brothers, Truman, Doyle, and Joe Nesbit.
Survivors include her son, Randy (Joleen Parks) Braswell; grandchildren, Russell Braswell and Laura (Matt) Pumphrey and their children Emma, Asa and Anson all of Hot Springs, AR; sisters, Norma Nesbit Vinson of Marysville and Nina Nesbit Rushing of Texas City, Texas and a host of nieces and nephews that knew her as Aunt Daph.
Visitation will be held Friday, Aug. 10, 2018 form 6 until 8 p.m. at Young’s Funeral Directors.
Funeral services will be held 2 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 11, 2018 at Marysville United Methodist Church with the Rev. Larry Goza officiating. Burial will follow at Marysville Cemetery under the direction of Young’s Funeral Directors.
Memorials may be made to Marysville Cemetery Fund, 11537 Magnolia Hwy., Magnolia, AR 71753.
An online guest registry will be available at youngsfuneralhome.com.
BENITA M. DAVIS
Benita Michelle Davis was born Aug. 19, 1963 to Floyd Dale Davis and Eddie Sue Davis.
Benita was a member of New Bethel Baptist Church for over 50 years and a 1981 graduate of Junction City High School. Benita worked at Myra’s Groceries, Days Inn, and El Dorado News Time.
As we celebrate the life of Benita, keep in mind and in heart that she suffers no more. Benita was a fighter, and for years she would not let death or diabetes get the best of her. She passed on Thursday, Aug. 2, 2018. All her wishes were granted, as she sits beside her true King and Heavenly Father saying, “I Feel Nice!”
She leaves two children, Tiffany Michelle Davis and Tracee Victoria Robinson; grandchildren, Bracee Phillips, Jewel Easter Jr., and KalaniSkye Matheny; siblings, Michael Alderson, Franklin Davis, Eric Davis, Terry Alderson (deceased), and Geletha Davis.
Public visitation will be Friday, Aug. 10, 2018 from 11 a.m. until 5 p.m. and the family hour from 7 until 8 p.m. at Sims Mortuary. Funeral services will be Saturday, August 11, 2018 at 2:30 p.m. at New Bethel Baptist Church. Interment at Three Creeks Cemetery under the direction of Sims Mortuary. Sign the guestbook online at www.simsmortuary.com.
JONI L. REYNOLDS
Joni LeAnn Reynolds, age 33, of Hot Springs, passed away Tuesday, Aug. 7, 2018.
She was born on
Oct. 27,
1984, in Magnolia, the daughter of Johnny and Gayla Halsey and Jimmy Sellers. On March 21, 2011, she married Alex Reynolds. She was preceded in death by her grandfather, Gaylord Smelser.
Joni was a Baptist in faith and she graduated from Mount Holly High School. She attended Hot Springs Cosmetology School and worked for the Belle of Hot Springs. Joni had a nurturing spirit, always caring for her siblings and friends. She loved animals, enjoyed hunting and fishing, and spending time outdoors. She also loved fast cars and motorcycles.
She is survived by her husband, Alex Reynolds of Hot Springs; her parents, Johnny and Gayla Halsey; her grandmother and caregiver, Willie Mae Smelser, all of Hot Springs; Jimmy Sellers of Stephens; her grandparents, Bill and Kay Sellers and James and Helen Halsey; two sisters, Kayla Sellers and Emma Sellers; two brothers, Michael Sellers and Chris Sellers; one nephew, Tucker Reynolds; her fur child, Jaxx; numerous extended family members and a host of wonderful friends.
Services will be held at 11 a.m., Saturday, in the Davis-Smith Funeral Home Chapel in Hot Springs with Bro. Bob Myrick officiating. To honor Joni, the family has requested that those in attendance wear t-shirts and jeans.
Interment will be in Salem Cemetery, near Stephens.
Visitation will be 10 a.m. until service time on Saturday.
Pallbearers will be Michael Sellers, Brett Smelser, Brett Jordan, Trevor Barton, Jakeb Dickey and Jace Dickey.
Honorary pallbearers will be Dr. David DeSoto, as well as Alisha, Janie, Robert and the entire staff of Ouachita Dialysis Center.
Guest registry is at www. davis-smith.com.
CURTIS W. THURMON
Curtis Walker Thurmon was born in Summerfield, Louisiana, November 2, 1929, the third of seven children born to Curtis Ephraim and Ethel Wright Thurmon.
He died August
6, 2018, in Shreveport, Louisiana.
Walker was predeceased by his parents, sisters Gladys Dunn Thomas and Dorothy Thornton, and brother Charles Lowell Thurmon.
He is survived by his wife of 67 years, Beverley Graves Thurmon; sisters Mertie Walton, Annette Garris, and Liz Griffith; daughter Kathy Lilley (Doug); son Curt Thurmon (Jody); granddaughters Laura Lilley Williams (Brian), Rebecca Lilley Matlock (David), Cricket Thurmon Beatty (Patrick), Casey Thurmon; and great grandchildren Claire, Charles Walker, and John Lee Williams, and Thomas Walker Matlock.
Walker graduated from high school in El Dorado, Arkansas, in 1947. He served his country in the U.S. Army during the Korean War. After working in the oil field supply business more than 40 years in Arkansas, Louisiana, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania, Walker retired in Shreveport as president of Bell Supply Company.
He was a member of Broadmoor United Methodist Church where he served on the Board of Trustees and participated in Methodist Men, Weekend of the Cross, the volunteer maintenance group, and the Senior Citizens Friday Group. He was also a Discussion Leader in the Shreveport Men’s Class of Bible Study Fellowship International.
Walker enjoyed working with his hands and was a gifted craftsman. His talents included wood carving, building furniture, and crafting jewelry from oil field pipe fittings and polished stones. He had a knack for “doing the impossible” in repairing objects that seemed beyond repair and in bringing to reality the projects dreamed up by his daughter.
Walker was a devoted follower of his son’s many sports activities. One of their greatest shared joys was fishing. Together with Curt, Walker enjoyed membership in the 107-yearold Squirrel Head Hunting and Fishing Club of Arkadelphia, Arkansas. They spent countless nights in tents on various camping trips, and they probably fished every fishable lake in Louisiana and Arkansas.
Walker and Beverley enjoyed traveling all over the country by highways and backroads. They loved dancing and playing games together, and in recent years were neck-and-neck in a dominoes game with scores in the thousands.
A graveside service for Walker Thurmon will be held at Rose Hill Cemetery in Arkadelphia, Arkansas, on Friday, August 10 at 11:00 a.m. On Saturday, August 11, a celebration service honoring him will be held in the chapel of Broadmoor United Methodist Church at 11:00 a.m. located at 3715 Youree Drive Shreveport, LA. 71105. A time for visiting with the family will be held at 10:00 a.m. in the fellowship area near the chapel.
If you would like to make a gift in Walker’s memory, please consider a contribution to the Broadmoor United Methodist Church Building Fund, 3715 Youree Drive, Shreveport, Louisiana, 71105.
Online register is available at www.ruggleswilcox.com.
(The deadline for full obituaries for the next day’s newspaper is 3 p.m. The deadline for death notices is 3 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 870-8626611).