EULESS, TX - E. J. CARTER, 67, a retired mechanic, died at his home Tuesday, June 9, 1998, after a short but courageous battle with brain cancer.
Funeral: 10 a.m. Friday at Stephenson-Dearman Funeral Home. Burial: Pleasant Springs Cemetery.
E. J. Carter was born June 1, 1931, in Drew County, Ark. He was the son of the late D.H. Carter and Azzielete Allen Carter. He was a Korean War Air Force veteran and a Baptist.
Mr. Carter was preceded in death by a brother, Marshall Lee Carter.
E. J. Carter was taken from this world, but never from the hearts of those who loved him.
Survivors: His wife, Mary Fullbright Carter of Euless; daughters, Debbie Norman of Arlington and Karen Carter of Euless; and brothers, Bobby Carter of Monticello, Ark., Loy Carter of Euless and Don Carter of Hot Springs, Ark.
Stephenson-Dearman Funeral Home Monticello, Ark.
--Fort Worth Star-Telegram (TX) - June 11, 1998.

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CLAYCOMO, MO–HENRY RAYMOND CRAIN, 75, Claycomo, MO, died Saturday, May 22, 1999, at home. Funeral services will be 7 p.m. Wednesday, May 26, at George C. Carson & Sons Independence Chapel; graveside services will be 2 p.m. Friday, May 28, at Cumberland Rose Hill Cemetery, Monticello, AR. Friends may call 6 p.m. until service time on Wednesday at the chapel. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the family to help defray funeral costs.
Mr. Crain was born January 12, 1924, in Auburn, NE. He was the son of the late Reverend Emerson F. Crain and Mary E. Brazeal Crain. He spent most of his life in the Kansas City, MO area but lived in Monticello, AR, from 1987-1996. Mr. Crain accepted the Lord in his life in 1981. He was a Pentecostal. He retired from Missouri Pacific Railroad.
With his twin brother, Harry, he served in the Army, Company A, 10th Battalion, 5th Armored Division during World War II from March 1942 until November 1945.
He is survived by his wife of 18 years, Martha E. Myhand Crain, of the home; a son, H. Steven Crain, Moberly, MO; daughters, Shelley D. Brown and M. Teresa Crain, both of Kansas City, MO; grandchildren, Shalimar Medley and Shannon Rush, both of Kansas City, MO, Shantil Crain, Jacksonville, FL, and Jason and Matthew Crain, both of O'Fallon, MO; great-grandchildren, Kelsey Perigo, Kansas City, MO, and Austin Crain, Jacksonville, FL; two stepdaughters and two step-granddaughters.
Mr. Crain was preceded in death by his siblings, six sisters and four brothers.
(Arrangements: George C. Carson & Sons Independence Chapel)
--Kansas City Star, The (MO) - May 25, 1999

Oklahoma City, OK--ROBERT LENDA HEFLIN, died April 17, 1988. Born April 30, 1904 in Drew County, AR. Moved from Arkansas to Emit, OK. in 1911, then to OKC in 1923. Worked for Okla. Railway 9 years, Inspection Bureau of OKC Fire Dept. 22 years and Okla. State Corporation Commission as Field Supervisor 15 years. Served in the US Coast Guard in WWII. Bob was an active member of Putnam City Baptist Church, life member and Past Master of Siloam Lodge 276, life member of Scottish Rite of Guthrie, OK., past member of York Rite and Shrine Temple. Received the Cross of Honor and Legion of Honor in the Order of DeMolay, also worked with Rainbow Girls many years, serving on the Rainbow Board. Member and Past Worthy Patron of Order of Eastern Star Chapter 373. Survived by wife, Marguerite; daughter, Jeanne Layton of Kemp, TX.; stepsons, Jack and Dan Milner; stepdaughter, Mary Tilley, all of OKC; 10 grandchildren, 2 great grandchildren; many nieces and nephews. Services 10am Wednesday, Putnam City Baptist Church. Bill Merritt Bethany.  --Daily Oklahoman, The (Oklahoma City, OK) - April 20, 1988.

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MONTICELLO, AR--HAROLD LEONARD, 80, of Monticello, Ark., formerly of Memphis, retired orderly for the Memphis Veterans Medical Center, died of cancer Friday at Leisure Lodge Nursing Home in Monticello.
Services were Sunday at Stephenson-Dearman Funeral Home in Monticello with burial in Pleasant Springs Cemetery in Drew County, Ark.
He was a World War II Army veteran who received the Purple Heart. He also was a Mason and a member of Pleasant Springs Missionary Baptist Church.
Mr. Leonard leaves two daughters, Lynn Sanders of Memphis and Debbie Williams of Olive Branch; a son, Harold Donald Leonard of Memphis; a sister, Katheryn Durmon of Monticello, and three grandsons.
--Commercial Appeal, The (Memphis, TN) - April 14, 1998

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MONTICELLO, ARK--HAZEL INEZ ROSS RABB LEONARD, 77, of Monticello, retired Monticello school cafeteria employee, died Tuesday at her home.
Services will be at 10 a.m. Friday at Stephenson-Dearman Funeral Home in Monticello with burial in Rose Hill Cemetery in Drew County, Ark.
She was a member of Pleasant Springs Baptist Church.
Mrs. Leonard, the wife of Russell Leonard, leaves local survivors including a daughter, Bettye Barnes of Memphis.
--Commercial Appeal, The (Memphis, TN) - May 21, 1992.

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MEMPHIS, TN--JAMES WALTER “J. W.” LEONARD, 74, of Memphis, retired inspector for weights and measures with the City of Memphis, died of heart failure Tuesday at Baptist Memorial Hospital East.
Services will be at 1:30 p.m. Saturday at Pleasant Springs Baptist Church in Drew County, Ark., with burial in Pleasant Springs Cemetery there. Memphis Funeral Home Stage Road Chapel has charge locally and Stephenson Dearman Funeral Home in Monticello, Ark., has charge there.
He was a member of Hollywood Baptist Church and a World War II Army veteran.
Mr. Leonard, the widower of Virginia T. Wagner Leonard, leaves two daughters, Sandra D. Carlew of Halls, Tenn., and Cynthia A. Holley of Memphis; two sons, James W. Leonard Jr. and John D. Leonard, both of Memphis; three stepdaughters, Joann Wagner Wisdom of Boyd, Texas, Alice Wagner Beanson of Dumas, Ark., and Linda Wagner Hall of Rogers, Ark.; a stepson, James L. Wagner of Little Rock; a sister, Katharyn Durmon, and a brother, Harold Leonard, both of Monticello, 10 grandchildren and 11 step-grandchildren.
--Commercial Appeal, The (Memphis, TN) - April 3, 1996

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MONTICELLO, ARK--VONNIE LAVERNE "HONEY" MAXWELL of Monticello was born April 25, 1925, in Drew County. She died Wednesday, Feb. 23, 2000, at Drew Memorial Hospital at the age of 74 years. She was a retired secretary-bookkeeper for the University of Arkansas-Monticello, a member of Eastern Star and a member of First Baptist Church of Monticello. She was the daughter of the late C.I. Burchfield and Lula Stone Burchfield.
Survivors include her husband, Louis Maxwell of Monticello; two daughters, Margaret Edney of Crossett and Betty Lou McFarland of Searcy; one sister, Inez Harriman of Oxford, MS; three grandsons and three great grandchildren.
Funeral service were at 3:30 p.m. Friday at Stephenson-Dearman Funeral Home chapel. Burial followed services at the Oakland Cemetery.
--Ashley County Ledger, Hamburg, AR; contributed by Kim Torp.

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GRAND ISLAND, FL--GRADY LEE MAYS, 79, 1020 Lake Drive, Grand Island, died Friday. Born in Drew County, Ark., he moved to Grand Island from Groveland in 1986. He was a retired residential and commercial painter. He was Baptist. He was an Army veteran of World War II. He was a member of the Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners Union.
Survivors: wife, Evelyn H.; sons, Kenneth L., Baton Rouge, La.; James H., Orlando; sister, Mary Romeck, Rockford, Ill.; 12 grandchildren; eight great-grandchildren. Beyers Funeral Home, Leesburg.  --Orlando Sentinel, The (FL) - August 4, 1991

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OKLAHOMA CITY, OK–EARL J. MHOON went to be with the Lord Sept. 26, 1991. Born in Monticello, Ar. Aug. 7, 1923 to Earl D. and Burley Burkett Mhoon. He served during WWII as a fireman in Iceland.
Married Harriet Helen Pendergast on Sept. 13, 1952. Moved to MWC, Ok., from Dallas, Tx. in 1969 and opened Earl's Pawn and Gun Shop. His hobbies included raising exotic birds, animals and miniature horses. He was a member of First Baptist Church of McLoud and the Miniature Horse Assn.
Preceded in death by parents and a grandson, Patrick Smith.
Survived by his wife, Harriet of the home; son, Mike and wife, Diann of Helena, Mt., son, Stuart and wife, Lisa of Choctaw, son, Ronnie and wife, Susan of Choctaw, daughter, Nancy Rogers of Choctaw, daughter, Allyson and husband, Doug Lawson of Choctaw, daughter, Patricia and husband, Steve Flores of Choctaw; grandchildren, Kimberly Cottrell, Samantha and husband, Wes Brewer, Michael, Matthew and Marshall Mhoon, Brian, Bradley and Brittany Mhoon, Clinton, Cory and Craig Lawson, and Jason and Crissy Flores; 3 great grandchildren, Christopher Cottrell, and Darrin and Taylor Brewer; brothers, Herschel Mhoon of Miramar, Fl., Art Mhoon of Lovington, N.M., Charles Mhoon of Garland, Tx., and sister, Jerry Domino of Dallas, Tx.
He will be missed by all who knew and loved him. Special thanks to the caring doctors and nurses in CICU at OMH.
Services will be at First Baptist Church of Mcloud, 2:00 p.m. Saturday, with burial at Arlington Memorial Gardens.
--Daily Oklahoman, The (Oklahoma City, OK) - September 27, 1991

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Jones, OK--RICHARD MURRAY, age 76, of Jones, passed away November 20, 1982. Memorial services will be Tuesday at 2 P.M. in Bill Eisenhour NE Chapel. He was born April 5, 1906, in Drew County, Arkansas. He was a farmer. Survived by his wife Savannah of the home, one daughter Loretta Odom of Midwest City, two brothers, Larry & his wife Lani Shropshire of Tuttle, & Kelly Odom of Midwest City, & two grandchildren.   --Source:  Daily Oklahoman, The (Oklahoma City, OK) - November 23, 1982.

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ATLANTA, GA--MIKE NICHOLS, retired manager for Georgia-Pacific, ex-Bronco --Mike Nichols of Grayson, a retired manager with Georgia Pacific Co. and a former football player for the Denver Broncos, died Tuesday at St. Joseph's Hospital in Atlanta awaiting a heart transplant. He was 59.
Mr. Nichols had been on the transplant list for two years, said his wife, Patty Nichols of Grayson.
The funeral was Thursday. Tom M. Wages, Snellville Chapel, was in charge of arrangements.
For 28 years, Mr. Nichols worked for the Georgia Pacific Co. and was a supervisor in charge of softwood lumber sales before his retirement a couple of years ago, his wife said.
A graduate of Arkansas A&M University at Monticello, Mr. Nichols played center in college and for the Denver Broncos from 1960 to 1962.
A native of Drew County, Ark., he also showed quarter-horses and raised them on his Grayson farm.
Surviving in addition to his wife are three daughters, Janet Lynn Robbins of Crossett, Ark., Jana Cunningham of Hamburg, Ark., and Michelle Elizabeth Closson of Grayson; two brothers, Gary Nichols and Kenny Nichols, both of Monticello; and two granddaughters.
--Atlanta Journal-Constitution, The (GA) - September 12, 1997

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LAWRENCE, KS--Services for MAE PASCHALL, 61, Lawrence, will be at 2 p.m. Wednesday at Warren-McElwain Mortuary with the Rev. Ron Goodman officiating. Burial will be in Oak Hill Cemetery.
Mrs. Paschall died Saturday, Sept. 21, 1991, at her home after a long illness.
She was born Oct. 25, 1929, in rural Drew County, Ark., the daughter of Clay and Myrtle Walker Minchew. She moved to Lawrence from Monticello, Ark., in 1958.
Mrs. Paschall was a homemaker. She also worked as a secretary for three years at Kennedy Elementary School, and was a visiting nurse for the Douglas County Visiting Nurses Assn. She was a member of First Christian Church and the Christian Women Fellowship, both in Lawrence.
She married John Wesley Paschall Jr. on Sept. 12, 1947, in Gould, Ark. He survives of the home.
Other survivors include her mother, Myrtle Martin, Crosset, Ark.; a daughter, Anita Louise Wise, Oskaloosa; four sons, John Wesley III, Fort Collins, Colo., Thomas L., Olathe, Scott Clay, Nashville, and L. Wade, Irvine, Calif.; a sister, Marie Smith, Sulphur, Okla.; a brother, J. T. "Buddy" Minchew, Maui, Hawaii; and three grandchildren.
The family will receive friends from 7:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. Tuesday at the mortuary.
--Lawrence Journal-World (KS) - September 23, 1991

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KANSAS CITY, KS–THEODUS R. RAILEY, 88, died Jan. 6, 1994, in Medicalodge East, Kansas City, Kan., where he lived. Graveside services will be at 1:30 p.m. Tuesday at Mount Hope Cemetery. Friends may call from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Tuesday at the Mrs. J. W. Jones Chapel.
Mr. Railey was born in Drew County, Ark., and lived in this area since 1944. He formerly worked for the Sonken-Galamba Corp. He was a Baptist.
Survivors include his wife, Melissie Railey of the home; two sons, Wilfred L. Railey, Denver, and Theodore R. Railey, Kansas City; four daughters, Thelma Farley, Kansas City, and Eartha L. Scott, Mary M. King and Helen R. Brown of Kansas City, Kan.; two brothers, Calvin Railey and Frank Washington of Tillar, Ark.; a sister, Norma Staples, St. Louis; 19 grandchildren; and 27 great-grandchildren.
--Kansas City Star, The (MO) - January 8, 1994

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WILLIAM THOMAS "W.T." SOMERVELL, formerly of Little Rock, AR, and Kansas City, MO, age 92, passed away at Bethany Lutheran Home, Council Bluffs, IA, on Sunday, March 9, 2003, where he had resided near his son. W.T. was born in Collins, Drew County, AR, on November 4, 1911.
W.T. was preceded in death by his wife of 56 years, Cyril Cobb Somervell. He is survived by one brother, Frank Somervell of Dermott, AR, and his only child, William Francis "Bill" Somervell, daughter-in-law, Ellen Eisenhart Somervell of Glenwood, IA; five grandchildren, Barry Todd Somervell of West Hartford, CT, William T. "Will" Somervell of Villa Grove, IL; Sherry Lynn Somervell-Peck of Independence, MO, Andrew Lee "Drew" Somervell of St. Louis, MO, Stacey Smith Crumley of Omaha, NE; 10 great-grandchildren; and four sisters-in-law.
Visitation will be held Wednesday, March 12, 2003, between 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. at Griffin Leggett Healey & Roth Funeral Home, 5800 W. 12th St., Little Rock, AR. Graveside funeral services will be held at 11 a.m. on Thursday, March 13, 2003, at Redfield, AR, Cemetery. --Kansas City Star, The (MO) - March 11, 2003

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Colorado Springs, CO–(Rev.) RUSSELL L. TAFT, 86, of Colorado Springs died Jan. 19. Services were Jan. 22 in Mountview Baptist Church and Jan. 23 in Trinity Baptist Church. Burial was in Crown Hill Cemetery.
Mr. Taft, a native of Drew County, Ark., was a Baptist minister and field representative for Colorado Children's Home.
Survivors include his wife, Nora Ann Woods Taft of Colorado Springs; two daughters, Patricia Ann Blatchley of Fort Collins and Janell Sarah Robinson of Colorado Springs; nine grandchildren; and five great-grandchildren.
--Rocky Mountain News (CO) - January 28, 1992.

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WEST MEMPHIS, AR--OCTAVIA MAUDE TUCKER, 87, of West Memphis, formerly of Florence, Ark., homemaker, died of heart disease Friday at West Memphis Rehabilitation and Nursing Center. Graveside services will be at 2 p.m. today in Mt. Tabor Cemetery in Drew County, Ark.
Stephenson-Dearman Funeral Home has charge.
She leaves a sister, Montrey Davidson of Auburn, Wash.
--Commercial Appeal, The (Memphis, TN) - November 17, 1996.

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OKLAHOMA CITY, OK–JAMES WILLIE WALLACE, SR., born June 30, 1911 to Frank and Mae Etta Wallace in Monticello, Ar. He was one of three children. His brother and sister both preceded him in death.
James met and married Mattie Lee Swopes on July 7th, 1944 in Little Rock, Ar. To this union was born 13 children. Also survived by 44 grandchildren, 11 great
grandchildren and many relatives and friends.
Private family services will be held.
--Daily Oklahoman, The (Oklahoma City, OK) - February 16, 1991

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