FAYETTEVILLE — Audrie Merle Stockland,

85, of Fayetteville, Ark., passed away on Tuesday, June 13th, 2023. Audrie was born on April 16th, 1938, to Charles and Nettie Pitcel in Hillsboro, Wis. She was a middle child, survived by her older siblings, Carol and Bob, as well as her younger sibling, Roger. She was predeceased by her younger brother, Chuck.

She is also survived by her children, Tom (Pam) Stockland, Jim (Dru) Stockland, and Beth (Rob) Armstrong; along with eight grandchildren, and five great-grandchildren.

After graduating from DeForest High School in 1955, she went to work for Farmer’s Mutual Insurance Company.

In 1960, Audrie married Richard Stockland. She went on to raise three children, Tom, Jim, and Beth, who were the center of her universe until they had children, at which point the center of her universe expanded.

In 1968, Audrie moved her family to Little Rock. In 1972, they moved to Fayetteville, where she would live out the rest of her days. She worked hard to make sure her family was taken care of and felt loved every day.

Audrie worked at the University of Arkansas for years, but she would likely tell you that wasn’t her passion. She was, however, an extremely passionate and avid Razorback fan.

Audrie had a passion for helping people in her community, and she was constantly looking for new ways to do so. She delivered meals to families in need and cared for mentally challenged children that wouldn’t have otherwise had a place to go after school. By her children’s account, she served food to the unfortunate and always encouraged her children to come along. She was involved in many of her church’s ministries throughout the years, and dedicated an enormous amount of time playing an active role in CEO (Cooperative Emergency Outreach of Fayetteville).

Through her passions she developed many friend groups. Once the kids were out of the house, you could find her on weekend bowling trips and golfing with her friends. She never let her competitive nature come between what those weekends were really about–friendship and fellowship. You also might have found her traveling the world with her cross stitching buddies, knitting all sorts of things for her loved ones and for people in difficult situations that needed to know someone was thinking about them.

Audrie held many titles: mother, provider, sister, daughter, dear friend, follower of Christ, and perhaps her best known title, Grandma. She dedicated nearly all of her life to providing for her family and looking for ways to help people in need. Throughout the years, Audrie developed many skills working within God’s ministries, and she used those skills to be a great example of how to care for children, how to help children successfully navigate daily life, and how to be an amazing Grandma.

Being a grandma came naturally to Audrie. Her grandkids enjoyed many Christmas Eves at her house, and their personalized stocking being the grandkids favorite part of the Christmas season.

Although she would eventually succumb physically, she never lost her wit or sense of humor. Until her dying day, you could always count on her to crack a joke or have a quick, well thought out retort on whatever topic. We will all miss Audrie dearly, but we are extremely grateful for the long life we were able to enjoy with her. She will forever live in our hearts and we take pleasure in knowing that many others are better off for having had her in their lives.

A visitation will be held on Sunday, June 25th from 4-6 p.m. at Nelson-Berna Funeral Home in Fayetteville. Services will be held at Emmanuel Lutheran Church 2901 E. Zion Road in Fayetteville on June 26, 2023 at 2 p.m. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to Emmanuel Lutheran Church or Cooperative Emergency Outreach (CEO) of Fayetteville, Ark., both organizations that she felt strongly about. You can send donations to CEO at 1649 E Huntsville Rd, Fayetteville, Ark. 72701 or online to Emmanuel Lutheran Church at https://onrealm.org/elcnwa/-/form/give/form1. To sign the online guest book please visit www.bernafuneralhomes.com