Hot Springs National Park, Arkansas
10B The Sentinel-Record, Sunday, August 14, 2016
Obituaries
Marshall W. Dawson Jr.
Marshall Wilson Dawson Jr., of Hot Springs Village, died Aug. 5, 2016, in Hot Springs. He was born on Nov. 15, 1934, in Davenport, Iowa, to the late Marshall Wilson Sr. and Mamie Kay (Gathings) Dawson. Survivors include his loving wife, Carol Lee Baker Dawson; children, Jane Dawson-Bunn (Donald), Andrew Dawson (HuiKun), Mary Claire, Sara Hyman (Kenneth James), Judith Judd (Donald Thurston); stepchildren, Doreen Hasner (Kelly), Michelle Cody, Ann-Marie Margaret Grice, Patrick Lutter; 18 grandchildren; 21 ½ great-grandchildren; two brothers and one sister, David Dawson (Mary), Marilyn Baumeister, Stanley Dawson; five nephews; five nieces; and one four-legged loved one named Lucy. Funeral services will be 2 p.m. Saturday at Coronado Baptist Church with the Rev. Greg Stanley officiating. The family wishes to extend a special thank you to the Nurses and CNAs who lovingly cared for Marshall at National Park Medical Center and Canyon Springs Nursing Home; you truly have wings under your scrubs. Full obituary at http://www. caruth-hale.com.
Frederick A. Findlen
HOT SPRINGS VILLAGE — Dr. Frederick Allen Findlen, age 62, formerly of Pownal, Maine, passed away unexpectedly on Saturday, Aug. 6, 2016, at his home in Hot Springs Village. Fred was born April 6, 1954, in Fort Fairfield, Maine, the fifth child of the family’s eight children, to Joseph P. and Louise B. (Hoyt) Findlen. Fred grew up on a potato farm in northern Maine and worked on the family farm until he graduated from Fort Fairfield High School in 1972. After graduating Phi Beta Kappa from the University of Maine at Orono in 1976, he attended Tufts University School of Dental Medicine in Boston, where he earned his DMD degree in 1979. Upon graduation, Fred joined the United States Army as captain, serving as a military dentist in Germany for three years. He traveled extensively throughout Europe, meeting new people and learning about their customs and cultures. This lifelong love of travel and history motivated him to explore his own family’s Irish ancestry. Yet, no matter how far or how often he travelled, Maine’s rolling potato fields and rocky coast
remained closest to his heart. Fred returned to the Brunswick, Maine, area in 1982, and set up his dental practice in Topsham, Maine, where he practiced dentistry for the next 30 years. Skilled and practical, with a gentle chair-side manner, Fred was fondly known as a “real person’s dentist” because his primary concern was for the oral health of his patients. A longtime member of ADA, MDA and Merrymeeting Dental Associations, Fred also volunteered his time doing dental missionary work in Mexico and Belize. He retired from dentistry in 2012. He and his wife later moved to Arkansas to be closer to his daughter and her family. One of his greatest joys was being “Opa” and spending time with his three grandchildren. An active member of community theater in the Brunswick area, Fred’s love of music led him to join a ukulele band in Falmouth, Maine (The Flukes) and to form the Hot Springs Ukulele Band in his new community in Arkansas. He was always on the lookout for an opportunity to play music and to meet new people. Fred was predeceased by his parents Joseph and Louise Findlen. He is survived by his beloved wife, Audrey (Viles) Findlen, and his daughter, Freedom (Findlen) Grim, her husband, Lawrence, and their children, Amaziah, Faith and Zeraia; his sister, Marcia (Findlen) Cyr and her husband, Van, of St. Joseph, Mich.; brothers and sisters-in-law, Joseph and Helen of Fort Fairfield, Maine; Patrick and Anita of Clifton, Maine; Michael and Judy of Lecanto, Fla.; Richard and Kathari of Houlton, Maine; Chris and Nancy, of Windham, Maine; and Gregory and Gayle of Dade City, Fla.; numerous nieces, nephews and friends, including special friend and career-long dental assistant Lisa York of Lisbon Falls, Maine. Fred will be remembered for his love of family and friends, his generosity of spirit, his smile, his dedication to his dental patients, his gifts of music, writing and storytelling, and his lifelong love of travel. Fred’s sense of humor and his ability to tell a good yarn shone brightly in stories that he wrote about growing up in the “County,” some of which were published in Down East and Echoes magazines. A Celebration of Life will be held at 1 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 18, 2016, at CedarVale Funeral Home, 200 Minorca Road, Hot Springs Village, AR. A second Celebration of Life will be held in Brunswick, Maine, at a later date. Burial will be private. Donations may be made to the Brain and Behavior Research Institute, 90 Park Ave. 16th floor, New York, NY 10016 or online at www.bbrfoundation.org. Please make a notation that it is in his memory.
Othelana D. Grimes
Othelana D. Grimes, age 84, of Hot Springs, died Friday, Aug. 12, 2016. She was born Feb. 27, 1932, in Mount Ida, the daughter of Johnny H. Yeaman and Wilma Bates Yeaman. She was preceded in death by her husband of 34 years, Carl Grimes; her parents; her stepmother, Attie Phillips Yeaman; brother, Clement Yeaman; and sister, Bonita Patterson. Survivors include one son, Carl (Patsy) Grimes, of Cleveland, Tenn.; two daughters, Zelphiea D. Mahan and Lana Grimes, both of Hot Springs; two grandsons, Clint Mahan and Lee Mahan; one granddaughter, Gailla Draper; seven great-grandchildren; two brothers, Milton (Betty) Yeaman, of Pearcy, and Hank (Lanell) Yeaman, of Mount Ida; several nieces, nephews, extended family members and friends. Services will be at 10 a.m.
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JA CKS O N A LLERG Y & A S THM A CLINIC
Three killed in ‘historic’ Louisiana floods; thousands were rescued BILL FULLER, MELINDA DESLATTE AND MICHAEL KUNZELMAN The Associated Press
Joyce LeCrompt
Joyce LeCompt, age 83, of Hot Springs, went to be with the Lord on Wednesday, Aug. 10, 2016. She was born March 14, 1933, in Bonnerdale, the daughter of Riley Edgar Long and Catherine Williams Long. She was preceded in death by her husband, Leonard LeCompt; her parents; her son, Charles LeCompt; and five brothers, Everett Long, Junior Long, Jack Long, Dwight Long and Dwain Long. She was Christian in her faith and enjoyed cooking and taking care of her family. She was a wonderful and loving mother and grandmother, who will be deeply missed by all who knew and loved her. She is survived by her two sons and daughter-in-law, Ricky and Phyllis LeCompt, of Mountain Pine, and Gary LeCompt of Hot Springs; her daughter and son-in-law, Linda and Steve Dennis of Hot Springs; seven grandchildren, Robbie LeCompt, John LeCompt, Jimmy LeCompt, Michael Dennis, Malissa Hecke, Christopher LeCompt and Cory LeCompt; 13 great-grandchildren; one great-great-granddaughter; numerous nieces, nephews and extended family members; many children, whom she loved and helped raise; and a host of wonderful friends. Services will be at 10 a.m. Tuesday, in Davis-Smith Funeral Home Chapel, Hot Springs, with Pastor Johnny Jackson officiating. Visitation will be 6-8 p.m. Monday. Interment will be in the Grants Chapel Cemetery. Pallbearers will be Michael Dennis, Cory LeCompt, Christopher LeCompt, Bryan Dennis, Robbie LeCompt, John LeCompt and Taylor Liggett. Guest registry is at http:// www.davis-smith.com.
OBITS, PAGE 11B
BATON ROUGE, La. — As the floodwaters swallowed Lyn Gibson’s two-story home, she hacked away on a hole near the roof, desperately trying to get to safety. She used a saw, a screwdriver and her feet, knocking her way through wood, vinyl and sheet rock. “I just kept picking and hitting and prying until I could get a hole big enough,” the slightly-built, 115-pound woman said. “I would saw for a while. I’d kick at it for a while.” Eventually, Gibson made it out of her Tangipahoa Parish home with her dogs, and they were all rescued by National Guard soldiers on a boat. It was one of thousands of rescues after a deluge dropped more than a foot of rain on parts of Louisiana, submerging roads, cars and homes. At least three people were killed. In another dramatic moment, two men on a boat pulled a woman from a car that was almost completely underwater, according to video by WAFB. The woman, who is not initially visible on camera, yells from inside the car: “Oh my god, I’m drowning.” One of the rescuers, David Phung, jumps into the brown water and pulls the woman to safety. She pleads with Phung to get her dog, but he can’t find it. After several seconds, Phung takes a deep breath, goes underwater and resurfaces — with the small dog. Both the woman and dog appeared to be OK. Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards declared a state of emergency, calling the floods “unprecedented” and “historic.” He and his family were even forced to leave the Governor’s Mansion when chest-high water filled the basement and electricity was shut off. “That’s never happened before,” said the governor, whose family relocated to a state police facility in the Baton Rouge area. During an aerial tour, an Associated Press reporter saw homes in parts of rural Tangipahoa Parish that looked like little islands among flooded fields. Farmland was covered and streets descended into impassable pools of water. “This is an ongoing event. We’re still in response mode,” Edwards said, urging residents to heed warnings to evacuate and be prepared for a disaster that could last for several days. Earlier in the day, Edwards said more than 1,000 people had been rescued. That number appeared to at least double by the end of the day, when Livingston Parish Sheriff Jason Ard said 2,000 people in his parish along had been rescued, and more people still await help. “We haven’t been rescuing people. We’ve been rescuing subdivisions,” he said. “It has not stopped at all today.” Beginning Friday, 6 to 10 inches of rain fell on parts of Louisiana and several more inches of rain fell on Saturday, according to the National Weather Service. The system is expected to turn to the north Sunday and portions of central and northern Louisiana could see heavy rain into next week.
Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant declared a state of emergency for several counties in his state as it also battled the heavy rainfall. In Baker, just north of Baton Rouge, residents were rescued by boats or waded through waist-deep, snake-infested water to reach dry ground. Dozens of them awoke Saturday morning on cots at a makeshift Red Cross shelter only a few blocks from their flooded homes and cars. John Mitchell, 23, said he swam to safety with his pit bull after police officers in a boat picked up his 20-year-old girlfriend, her 1 year-old daughter and Mitchell’s father. “This is the worst it’s been, ever,” Mitchell said. “We tried to wait it out, but we had to get out.” Mitchell fears he lost their trailer home and his car, which was flooded up to the seats. A bag of clothes was all he had time to save as the water levels rapidly rose. Shanita Angrum, 32, said she called 911 on Friday morning when she realized flood waters had trapped her family in their home. A police officer carried her 6-year-old daughter, Khoie, on his back while she and her husband waded behind them for what “felt like forever.” “Snakes were everywhere,” she said. “The whole time I was just praying for God to make sure me and my family were OK.” The body of a woman from Amite was recovered Saturday from the Tickfaw River, according to Michael Martin, chief of operations for the St. Helena Sheriff ’s Office. The woman, her husband and the woman’s mother-in-law were driving on a state highway Friday when their car was swept off the road. The woman’s husband and mother-inlaw clung to a tree for hours before they were rescued Saturday, Martin said. A man died Friday after slipping into a flooded ditch near the city of Zachary, said East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff’s spokesman Casey Rayborn Hicks, who identified the victim as 68-year-old William Mayfield. And the body of 54-year-old Samuel Muse was found in St. Helena Parish, where crews pulled him from a submerged pickup on Louisiana Highway 10, authorities said. Numerous rivers in southeast Louisiana and southern Mississippi were overflowing. The governor said some were expected to crest more than 4 feet above previous records. Officials were not sure just how widespread the damage would be. In a 24-hour period, Baton Rouge had as much as 11 inches of rain. One weather observer reported more than 17 inches of rainfall in Livingston, according to the National Weather Service. The Tickfaw River, just south of the Mississippi state line in Liverpool, Louisiana, was already at the highest level ever recorded. In southwest Mississippi, Leroy Hansford, his wife and stepson were among those rescued near Gloster, which had more than 14 inches of rain. Hansford, 62, said waters from Beaver Creek, which is normally more than 400 feet away from his house, rose quickly overnight. He said another stepson who lives nearby alerted him. “We woke up and the water kept on coming,” Hansford said. “It came up to my waist.”
JILL LAWLESS
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• Sin u s • Ra sh/ H ives • Cold Sym ptom s • H ea d a ches • Itchin g
Anna Marie Keithler, age 89, of Hot Springs, formally of Kirkwood, Mo., died Tuesday, Aug. 9, 2016. Anna is survived by her son and daughter-in-law, William and Mary Keithler of Englewood, Colo.; her daughter and son-in-law, Kristan and Jed Simpson of Hot Springs; two grandchildren, Austin Keithler and Kelsey Keithler, both of Centennial, Colo.; one great-granddaughter, Juniper Gray Keithler of Centennial; her sister, Betty Lou Stephens of St. Louis; and her dear friend and caregiver, Tresa Keithler, The Associated Press of St. Louis. Arrangements are under the WADING THROUGH: A member of the St. George Fire Department assists residents Friday as they direction of Davis-Smith Funer- wade through floodwaters from heavy rains in the Chateau Wein Apartments in Baton Rouge, La. al Home, Hot Springs. Memorials may be made to Arkansas Hospice, 628 Malvern Ave., Hot Springs, AR 71901. Guest registry is at www. davis-smith.com.
The Associated Press
H O T SPRIN GS’O N L Y BO ARD CERTIFIED AL L ERGIST
• H a yfever • A sthm a / W heeze • Chron ic Cou gh • Sn eezin g • Food A llergies
Anna Marie Keithler
Kenny Baker, played R2-D2 in ‘Star Wars,’ dies at 81
Is your allergist board certified by the A m erican Board of A llergy & Im m unology?
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Monday at Apostolic Faith Tabernacle with Rev. Dennis Anderson and Bro. Bob Fruen officiating. Visitation will be 3:30-5:30 p.m. Sunday. Interment will be in Blish Cemetery under the direction of Davis-Smith Funeral Home, Hot Springs. Guest registry is at www. davis-smith.com.
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LONDON — Kenny Baker played the lovable droid R2D2 in the “Star Wars” films, achieving cult status and fans’ adulation without showing his face or speaking any lines. The 3-foot 8-inch (1.1 meter) performer — a word he preferred to actor — inside the waste-bin-shaped costume has died at 81. Baker’s nephew and carer, Drew Myerscough, said he found Baker dead Saturday at his home in Preston, northwest England. Myerscough told Sky News that Baker had suffered years of breathing problems, “which he had borne very bravely.” He said the affection of “Star Wars” fans around the world “kept him going, without any doubt.”
R2D2, PAGE 11B
THE ORIGINAL R2-D2:
Actor Kenny Baker, who portrayed the R2-D2 in the first Star Wars movie, signs autographs May 26, 2007, at Star Wars Celebration IV, at the Los Angeles Convention Center. Baker, 81, has died Saturday.
The Associated Press