Thursday, January 16, 2014 DeWitt Era-Enterprise • dewitt-ee.com
3A
LOCAL NEWS
Obituary
Obituary
Obituary
Floyd Mannis, Jr.
Juanita Miller
Billy Wallace
Floyd Raymond Mannis, Jr., 75, of DeWitt died January 9, 2013. He was born on November 2, 1938, in DeWitt to Floyd Raymond Mannis, Sr., and Helen Ethel Long Mannis. He retired from Hornbeck Seed. Floyd Ray was preceded in death by his wife, Nadean Grissom Mannis; one son, Ricky Dewayne Mannis; his parents; two sisters, Juanita Sloate and Viola Capps; and one brother, Larry Mannis. Survivors include his children and their spouses, Debbie Burnett and Kavin of Crossett, AR, Pam Johnson of Lake Village, AR, and Steve Mannis and Danielle of Nashville, TN; six grandchildren Erin Johnson, Robert Burnett, Haley Mannis, Bailey Mannis, Cody Brickey, and Trace Kimbrell; seven great-grandchildren; five brothers, J.D. Mannis of DeWitt, Billy Joe Mannis of Oklahoma, Roy Mannis of DeWitt, Bruce Mannis of DeWitt, and Elvis Mannis of DeWitt; and three sisters, JoAnn Kagebein of DeWitt, Marilyn Sloate of Stuttgart, and Kathy Kidd of DeWitt. Visitation was held January 11 at Essex Funeral Home with funeral services following at the General Assembly and Church of the Firstborn with burial in Thompson Cemetery by Essex Funeral Home. www.essexfuneralhome.com
Juanita Lankford Miller, 79, of Stuttgart, widow of William Boyd Miller, died Wednesday, January 8, 2014, in Little Rock. She was born August 25, 1934, in DeWitt to John Williams Lankford and Lula Harmon Lankford. She was named Miss DeWitt in 1953 and was named to the top 10 in the Miss Arkansas pageant that year. She received her Bachelor of Science in Education degree from then-Arkansas State Teacher’s College in Conway where she was named Scroll Queen in 1956. She was a member of Alpha Sigma Tau where she was named Best Pledge. In 1956, Juanita and Boyd were married and spent their 50th wedding anniversary in Ireland. She loved to travel and visited every state in the union with the exception of Alaska and South Carolina and traveled to Europe four times. Juanita, an avid reader, taught for 44 years for Stuttgart Public Schools and was proud to have served as president of the Faculty Club but, she received the greatest enjoyment from her students. She loved gardening and was proud to have been the recipient of Stuttgart’s Yard of the Month. Besides her parents and husband, she was preceded in death by her brother, James William Lankford. Survivors include two daughters, Deborah Goode of Conway and Tammy Lorince of Fayetteville; four grandchildren, Matthew Goode, Katherine Goode, Emily Lorince and Ashley Lorince; and one great-grandchild, Harper Goode. Funeral services, officiated by Dr. Sam Roberts, are 2 p.m. Saturday at First Baptist Church with burial following in Lone Tree Cemetery. Visitation is 5-7 p.m. Friday at Turpin Funeral Home. The family suggests memorials to First Baptist Church, 2115 S. Prairie St., Stuttgart, Arkansas 72160, or the American Cancer Society, 901 N. University Avenue, Little Rock, Arkansas 72207 Please go to www.turpinco.com to sign the online guestbook.
Billy Clay Wallace, age 69, of Cabot, formerly of Tichnor, died Monday, January 6, 2014. He was born February 23, 1944 in DeWitt to Jeffery and Jewel Corine Eichler Wallace who preceded him in death. Also preceding him were an infant daughter, two brothers: Jeffery, Jr. and Ronald, and a sister: Norma Fowler. Survivors include his wife, Marla Richter Wallace, son, Chase Wallace of Gillett; brothers: Charles Wallace (Betty), Donald Wallace (Linda), Benny Wallace (Fay) all of Tichnor; sisters: Velma Williams (James) of Tichnor, Catherine Hayes of DeWitt, Betty Faye Houghton (Dale) of Spring, TX; sister-in-law: Kathy Ellenburg, brother-in-law: Danny Richter both of Gillett; special nephews: Larry Wallace, Jimmy Fowler, Robert Dale Wallace and a host of nieces of nephews. Funeral services will be 2:00 PM Thursday, January 9th, at St. Paul Lutheran Church in Gillett with burial at Wallace/Menard Cemetery by Essex Funeral Home, DeWitt. Visitation will be 5:00 to 7:00 Wednesday at the funeral home. Memorials may be made to Wallace/Menard Cemetery, %Larry Wallace, 529 Nady Rd., Tichnor, AR 72166.
Obituary Fred Sampson Fred Samuel “Sam” Sampson, age 80, of Malvern passed away Monday, January 6, 2014 at Baptist Health Medical Center in Little Rock. He was born May 4, 1933, in Hot Spring County, the son of the late Fredrick Coleman and May G. Davis Sampson. Sam was retired from Alcoa, where he worked as a pipe fitter for over 30 years. He served in the United States Navy, was a member of the City Council and Kiwanis. Sam was also a member and deacon at Trinity Baptist Church. Other than his parents, he is preceded in death by his wife, Ann Marie Wallis Sampson; siblings, May, Anna and Victorine. Survivors, son, Ray Sampson of Philippines; daughter, Lisa Sampson of Dewitt; brother, John Sampson of Malvern; sisters, Patsy McMullen of Malvern, Jan Miller of Jonesboro, Laverne Phelps of Donaldson and Ruth Dial of Leola; grandchildren, Joshua, Jacob, Jonathan, John and Helen Sampson and numerous nieces and nephews. Visitation will be Friday, January 10 from 12:302:00pm at Regency Funeral Home. Funeral Service will be Friday, January 10 at 2:00pm at Regency Funeral Home with Brother Tim Carpenter officiating. Burial will be at Resthaven Memorial Gardens. Pallbearers will be Jacob Sampson, Josh Sampson, Jonathan Sampson, Chris Shaw, Reggie Wallis, Rusty Ray, Wayne Shaw and James Duren. Arrangements are by Regency Funeral Home. You may sign the guest book at regencyfuneralhome.com.
Obituary Raymond Horton Raymond Lester Horton, age 87, of DeWitt went to be with his heavenly father Saturday, January 11, 2014. He was an avid hunter and fisherman, decorated soldier, deacon at Bellview Missionary Baptist Church, beloved father and grandfather, and a friend to many. Raymond proudly served overseas in the United States Army during WWII where he earned a purple heart among several other medals. Upon his return from war, he married the love of his life, Irene Trussell, in August of 1946. Throughout his life, he made many trips to Mexico as part of a missions team that helped to build over 80 churches. Left behind are his five children: Sammy Horton of DeWitt, Darell Horton of Maumelle, Cathy Malone of Little Rock, Rocky Horton of Stuttgart, and Debbie (Phil) English of DeWitt; one brother, Mervle Wayne Horton of Texas; eight grandchildren and fourteen great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his wife of 54 years, Irene Trussell Horton, two brothers Earnest and Charles Horton, and one daughter-in-law Billye Horton. Visitation will be Monday, January 13 from 5 to 7 p.m. at Essex Funeral Home. Funeral services will be January 14 at 10:00 a.m. at Bellview Missionary Baptist Church with burial Mt. Pleasant Cemetery. Memorials may be made to Bellview Missionary Baptist Church in Ethel. www.essexfuneralhome. com
Obituary Charles Stephen Downs Following a long illness, Charles Stephen Downs, 74, died at Holy Cross Hospital in Silver Spring, MD, on December 26, 2013. An Arkansan, Stephen grew up in St. Charles and Hot Springs; excelled in academics, student life, and ROTC at Henderson State; and earned an MA in English at the University of Arkansas in 1962. Subsequently fulfilling his military obligation as a lieutenant, Stephen served as a diplomatic courier at the Pentagon and in military intelligence at Ft. Meade, MD. Best remembered as an outstanding educator, Stephen worked in Montgomery County Public Schools for 35 years as a teacher and administrator, until his retirement in 1999. He was discharged from the army the same day he started teaching English at White Oak Jr. High in Silver Spring. Two years later, he became English Resource Teacher at Francis Scott Key Jr. High. This was a happy and productive time, for the department flourished with exciting and memorable innovations, all done with hard work and enthusiasm. Then, during his long tenure as Assistant Principal at Takoma Park Middle School, Stephen was able to effectively support students and teachers in such a caring way that he was sometimes referred to as “the heart of the school.” He worked to make things a little nicer, a little more comfortable, a little happier. Often, he could defuse tension with humor. There was tremendous respect and camaraderie among the staff. Stephen was the son of the late Charles Franklin Downs and Mildred Stephenson Downs, both educators. In addition to his wife of 49 years, Martha McNiel Downs, Stephen is survived by his son, Stephen Trevor Downs (Laurie) of Elon, NC; his daughter, Ashley McNiel Butters (Justin) of Crofton, MD; his brother, Jay Franklin Downs of Gettysburg, PA; and five granddaughters, McKenna Grace Downs, Isabelle Stephenson Downs, Katie Patterson Bell, Sarah Katherine Butters, and Emma Grace Butters. There will be a memorial service at 1 PM on Sat., Jan. 4, at Colesville Presbyterian Church, 12800 New Hampshire Ave., Silver Spring, MD 20904. Memorials can be made to Colesville Presbyterian and to RHS Helping Hands Foundation, PO Box 8, Rector, AR 72461.
Obituary Ginger Vansandt Ginger Irene (Bateman) Vansandt, age 80, of Searcy, died Saturday morning, December 28, 2013. She was born July 5, 1933, in DeWitt to the late William and Margaret Bateman. Survivors included two daughters, I’Lisa Painter of Heber Springs and GiGi Rhea of Libertyville, IL; two sons, Kenny Vansandt, Jr. of Little Rock and Wally Vansandt of Colt; two brothers, John Bateman of Maryland and Bill Bateman of DeWitt; and eight loving grandchildren. A graveside service was held at 1 p.m., Wednesday, January 1 at DeWitt Cemetery in DeWitt. New Eden funeral home of Forrest City was in charge of all arrangements.
Obituary Raymond E. Hornbeck Funeral services for Mr. Raymond E. Hornbeck, age 86, will be held at 2:00 pm, Monday, January 13, 2014, at the Bailey Funeral Home, Springhill, LA, with Bro. Joseph Gillentine officiating and his brother, Dwayne Hornbeck assisting. Interment will follow in Walnut Hill Cemetery, Bradley, AR under the direction of Bailey Funeral Home, Springhill, LA. Visitation will be held Sunday, January 12, 2014 6:00 pm - 9:00 pm at Bailey Funeral Home, Springhill, LA. Mr. Hornbeck, resident of Springhill for the past 20 years and a former resident of Bradley, AR was born on May 29, 1927 to Lester E.and Carrie Hammett Hornbeck in DeWitt, AR and passed away on Saturday, January 11, 2014 in Shreveport, LA. He was a charter member of Springhill Christian Church where he was an elder. He was a veteran of the U.S. Army serving in Korea and was a rice farmer for many years having received the Farm Family of the Year award for Lafayette County. He was active in the Hughey Masonic Lodge #70, Taylor, AR where he served in all stations, including the East and more recently received the Pillars of Solomon Award. He served on numerous boards including the Levee Board in Bradley and Hospital Board in Lewisville. He is survived by four daughters, Vickie Umphries and husband, David; Sherrie Davis and husband, Jerry, all of Sarepta, LA; Janet Parkerson and husband, Robert ; Gena McMullan and husband, Denny, all of Springhill, LA; daughter-in-law, Patsy Bishop and husband, John of Bradley, AR; 15 grandchildren and 21 great-grandchildren; sister, Joyce Cooper of Almyra, AR; brother, Dwayne Hornbeck and wife, Barbara of DeWitt, AR; and a host of nieces and nephews. Mr. Hornbeck was preceded in death by his, parents; wife, Bobbie Jean Hornbeck; son, Gary Hornbeck; granddaughter, Morgan M’Layne McMullan; brothers, C.W. Hornbeck and Glen Hornbeck; sisters, Lelia Ella Hornbeck and Eloise Hornbeck. Pallbearers will be his grandsons, Kevin Umphries, Greg Umphries, Brandon Sears, Chris Parkerson, Conroe McMullan and great-grandsons, Austin Lay and Dallas Lay. In lieu of flowers, the family request memorials be made to the Springhill Christian Church Building Fund, 308 11th St. NE, Springhill, LA 71075. Sign our online guest book at www.baileyfuneralhome.net.