MAKANDA, IL - RANDOLPH COOK, 85, of Makanda, formerly of Caraway, Ark., died Monday, Dec. 15, 2008, in Murphysboro after a brave battle with cancer.

He was born Nov. 23, 1923, in Caraway, Ark., to the late Olen and Sarah Cook.

He was a member of Caraway Baptist Church. He retired from General Motors in St. Louis after 32 years of service. Mr. Cook was also a U.S. Navy World War II and Korean veteran and a member of American Legion and VFW.

Survivors include his wife of 18 years, Shirley Cook; one son, Keith; one daughter, Lisa; one special stepson, Samuel; five other stepchildren; three sisters, Mildred Coffman, Morlene Powell of Caraway, Ark., Olean Mahan and husband, Nola Lee Mahan of Cave City, Ark.; 16 grandchildren; 12 great-grandchildren; and many nieces, nephews and other relatives.

Mr. Cook was preceded in death by his parents; one brother; infant son; first wife; and three brothers-in-law and two sisters-in-law.
Services and visitation were Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2008, in Caraway Baptist Church in Caraway, Ark., with the Rev. Rick Stevens and the Rev. Waylon Holt officiating. Burial was in Caraway Cemetery with military services.

Faith Funeral Service in Manila, Ark., is in charge of arrangements.

--Published in The Southern Illinoisan on 12/18/2008.



WINSTON-SALEM, N. C. - Gary Lynn Creason, Sr., 59, of Winston-Salem, died Thursday at his home. Born in Craighead County, he was a district sales manager for Mesco Metal Buildings and a member of Northwoods Baptist Church.

Survivors include two sons, Gary Lynn Creason Jr. and John Cunningham Creason, both of Winston-Salem; one daughter; Candace Lee Holcomb of Huntsville, Ala. his mother; Lavern Franklin of Jonesboro; a brother, William Franklin of Jonesboro; and a grandson.

Funeral services will at 2 p.m. at Northwoods Baptist Church here, with Rev. Jim Thompson and Rev. Tommy Dollar officiating. Burial will follow in Mt. Gur Cemetery in Kernersville, N.C., under the direction of Hayworth-Miller-Cain Funeral Home of Kernersville.

Visitation will be from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. today at the funeral home and from 12:30 p.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday at the church fellowship hall.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Northwoods Baptist church, 5204 Walkertown Road, Winston-Salem, N.C. 27105, or Hospice of Winston-Salem/Forsyth County, 1100-C S. Stratford Road, Winston-Salem, N. C. 27103.

--Source:  The Jonesboro Sun, Saturday, February 17, 2001, Page 2B; contributed by Ila East.

    Sammy Lee Creason, 51, of 218 South Bridge, Jonesboro, died Thursday evening at the Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tenn.
    Born in Jonesboro, Creason was a 1962 graduate of Jonesboro High School and attended Arkansas State University, where he played drums in the ROTC band for two years. He started playing in bands at the age of 13.
    When he was growing up in Jonesboro, Creason recorded extensively at Joe Lee’s Alley Records. He was also one of the busiest musicians on the ASU campus, where he played numerous shows, dances and other social occasions.
    Creason, a longtime professional drummer whose talents were much in demand for many years in Nashville, also recorded extensively at the old Criteria Studios in Miami, Fla. During that era Criteria was owned by Atlantic Records, and Creason played drums in the studio behind such legendary pop and soul music stars as Wilson Pickett and Aretha Franklin.
    He also played behind Rita Coolidge, Jimmy Buffet, Brooke Benton, Lulu, B.J. Thomas, Sam the Sham, Dr. John, Jerry Jeff Walker, Charlie Rich, Dottie West, Sam and Dave, Junior Parker, Ted Nugent, Bonnie Bramlet, Delbert McClintin, Barbara Streisand, Bob Dylan, Ronnie Hawkins, and blues great Taj Mahal and jazz star Carmen McRae.
    The drummer worked for many years with the popular Bill Black Combo, the opening band for the Beatles first American tour in 1964. Later he was with “The Dixie Flyers”, the rhythm section working for Atlantic Records.
    Creason worked for many years with the singer-songwriter-actor Kris Kristofferson. He also played record and live dates with Tony Joe White and rock/country legend Jerry Lee Lewis.
    He was a member of the Central Baptist Church of Jonesboro, the Screen Actors Guild and had five movies and soundtracks to his credit. He was preceded in death by his father, Virgil Creason, in 1944; his stepfather, L.W. Franklin, in 1979; and by a son.
    Survivors include his wife Claudia Creason of Providence, R.I.; one son, Ty Creason of Providence; one daughter, Naomi Creason of Providence; his mother, Mrs. Laverne Franklin of Jonesboro; two brothers, Gary Creason of Winston-Salem, N.C., and Bill Franklin of Jonesboro; and one sister, Sue Franklin of Jonesboro.
    Funeral services have been scheduled for Sunday afternoon at 1:30 at Emerson Funeral Home’s Chapel on the Hill, with Rev. Mike Martin officiating. Burial will follow in Oaklawn Cemetery.
    Pallbearers will include Al Hendrix Jr., Donnie Fritz, Bobby Tucker and several musical associates in Northeast Arkansas.
    The body will lie in-state from 5:30 until 8 this evening at the funeral home.
    The family asks that consideration be given to the Jonesboro Church Health Center or Central Baptist Church for those wishing to leave lasting memorials.
    --Published in The Jonesboro Sun, Jonesboro, Arkansas, December 23, 1995; contributed by Ila East.

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     --FAX received by Lavern Franklin, Sammy’s mother from Kris Kristofferson--12/23/95 10:27 MALIBU
    I met Sammy the day I met Rita, Mike Utley, Tommy McClure, and Charlie Freeman. They were living together in a house in Memphis rehearsing for the road and I felt like I was with a bunch of big brothers whose inspection had to be passed if one had eyes on their sister. When I mentioned this to them a couple of days later they laughed; except for Sammy, who looked me straight in the eye and said, “We’re not so sure about you yet!” He meant it. It’s the last time I can remember him looking at me without a smile in his eye.
    Our lives were soon to become permanently entangled, and we shared a lot of comedy and tragedy over the next couple of decades.
    I remember telling him on the way to the stadium stage of our first gig together -- he’s just flown in from working with “Dr. John and the Trippers”, and we hadn’t had time to rehearse one song  -- I said, “Just think of the band ‘Levon”. He smiled and nodded and proceeded to become my first and favorite drummer. He was the heartbeat of our music; he had the power to carry us through whatever piece of hell we were in and the spirit to soar with the good times, when they happened, all over the world.
    I see him smiling, sweating, banging out that back-beat, playing with pain, broken bones in his arms and his ribs, and his feet, and in his heart.
    Here are some of the memories of Sammy I’ll carry to my grave:
    -- Him standing all day atop a high narrow wall in Durango, Mexico dressed as an outlaw
             and unable to move because his namesake (Pekinpah) had taken away his glasses.
    -- Doing the “Three Stooges with Billy and Donnie”
    -- With Donnie in their red bus jammies walking from the bus through the hotel lobby on
            arrival.
    -- Being lowered terrified by a cable from a helicopter to the deck of a ship in the Indian
            Ocean.
    -- Grinning at me through the sweat and beard and glasses every time I turned around on
            stage.
    He loved to laugh and he was fun to be around.
    My heart goes out to everyone who loves Sammy, but particularly to the members of his family, who have experienced so much loss so recently.
    God bless you and strengthen you in the days that come.
    Love,
    Kris

UNION, Mo. -- Funeral services for DESSIE CUPP, 74, of Union, who died Dec. 19 at her home, were held on Dec. 21 in the chapel of Oltmann Funeral Service in Union. Burial was in the Union Cemetery.
Born in Craighead County, she was a homemaker and was an active member of the Union First Baptist Church. She was employed at the Union RXI School district for 33 years.
Survivors include two daughters, Sherry Ginnett of Washington, Mo., and Stephanie Cupp of Seminole, Fla.; two sons, Ronald Cupp of Union and Randie Cupp of Wildwood, Mo.; two sisters, Mattie Brown of Hanford, Calif., and Helen Wood of Paragould; nine grandchildren, Carl Rogers III, Micah Ginnett, Kelly Cupp, Joe Cupp, Aaron Cupp, Amanda Cupp, Andrew Cupp, Lee Cupp and Ivy Cupp; and three great-grandchildren.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Joe W. Cupp; an infant son; her parents, Ralph "R.C." and Bertha Brown; a brother; and a sister.
----Jonesboro (AR) Sun, January 3, 2003