JAMES PACE
JAMES FRED PACE, 67, of Camden, died on August 24; Visitation Tuesday, August 31, from 5 to 7 p.m. in Williams Funeral Home, 504 Adams, Camden; Graveside Services Wednesday, September 1, 11:00 a.m. in Eternal Rest Cemetery, Camden; He is survived by two daughters, Sheree M. Pace and LaChunda G. Thomas; two sons, James D. Pace and Antoine D. Pace; one sister, Flossie Fields; two brothers, Ralph Pace and Jerry Pace; 4 grandchildren and 2 great grandchildren. Anthony Funeral Home;, West Memphis, AR, in charge of services.
BOBBY JEFFREY
Bobby Gene Jeffrey entered Heaven on August 26, 2021 following 87 years of a productive and faithful life on Earth. He was the wonderful husband to Helen and father to sons David, Robert Neal and Bill Jeffrey.
Born the sixth child of Stonie and Euna Jeffrey on May 16, 1934 in Locust Grove, Arkansas, Bobby early learned the value of hard work by hoeing and picking in his father's cotton fields alongside his siblings and other relatives. By age 12 he was operating a tractor after the mules were no longer used for plowing.
A 1951 graduate of Desha High School, Bobby earned a degree in forestry from Arkansas A&M in 1955. That same year Bobby married his true love, Helen Herring of Monticello and the couple would share almost 60 years of life together until Helen's passing in February 2015.
After a brief period in Cleveland Texas working for Kirby Lumber Company, Bobby accepted a position with International Paper in Pine Bluff Arkansas in 1956, beginning a 40 year career with the company that was interrupted only by a two-year stint in the U.S. Army at Fort Chaffee Arkansas from 1957 to 1959. In February 1959, IP assigned Bobby to Sheridan where he and Helen became active members in the community and as members of First Baptist Church. In 1966, Bobby was transferred to El Dorado and then to Camden in 1967 where he advanced in management of company timberlands .In 1980 IP promoted Bobby to manager of the 200,000 acre Sheridan timberlands operations – a position he held until his retirement in 1995.
In his early years in Sheridan Bobby was an active member in the Lions Club and later in Camden once served on the Camden Fairview School Board and later served on the Grant County School Board and the Alumni Board of Directors of the University of Arkansas at Monticello. He also enjoyed managing a small cattle herd until he and Helen sold their "spread" in 2000 and moved to town.
Bobby was a cofounder of Peoples Bank of Sheridan in 2000 and was always proud of the institution's success and of the management team that made it happen. He served on the bank's board of directors for 19 years.
The last 6 years of life was at times lonely without Helen, but Bobby continued to devote himself to his family and was always available if any of them needed his wise counsel and help. He became active once again at First Baptist Church where he renewed old friendships and fostered new ones and participated in the Blessings House ministry until his health began to decline and mostly confined him to his home. He battled cancer and heart problems for the last 20 years of his life but was joyful to the end.
In addition to his three sons, Bobby is survived by three daughters-in-law: Lona (David), Debbie (Robert Neal) and Wendy (Bill), four grandchildren : Sarah (Tanner) Atwood, Harry (Aubree), Andy, Lacey and two step grandchildren, Rene (Allen) Thomas and John (Tifney) Gaines; two sisters, Jolene Thorn and Mary Alice Southard of Batesville and 13 nieces and nephews and their offspring. He was pre-deceased by one sister, Juanita and two brothers, Forrest and Wayne Jeffrey.
Funeral Service will be 3:00 P.M. Monday at First Baptist Church in Sheridan. Visitation will be 2:00 P.M. until service time. Burial will be at Philadelphia Cemetery in Prattsville.
Memorials may be made to The Blessings House of First Baptist Church, 1201 South Rock, Sheridan, AR 72150.
Arrangements by Memorial Gardens Funeral Home of Sheridan (870) 942-1306.
ANGELA ELDER
Angela Jeanette Elder, 83, of Fort Worth TX passed away peacefully in her daughter's home in Camden, AR, August 13, 2021. Angie was born May 9, 1938, in Estelline, SD to Vinzent and Angela Schlenker. She was the 17th of 18 children, raised on the family farm in Hazel, SD.
Her adventurous travels led her to Phoenix, AZ where she met and married Raymond Elder and they had 4 children. In 1973 they moved to Fort Worth, TX.
Angie was a faithful member of Open Arms Fellowship. She was a God fearing woman who loved serving God's people. She enjoyed singing, playing instruments and was inspired to write many songs. She enjoyed tending to her yard, plants and flowers. She was an active member of the Northwest YMCA and The Silver Sneakers. She also enjoyed playing games and occasional shenanigans. She was a great cook, and her desserts were loved by all.
Being a Memaw was her greatest joy. In her words, "Having these darling Grandchildren, it's extra love to have and extra love to give. Every single one of them were and are so cute. So enjoyed them coming to spend the night or make sugar cookies. Now they are all grown, handsome and beautiful children of God. I'm so proud of all of their accomplishments in life. They are doing so well."
Angie was preceded in death by her parents, her husband, 10 brothers and 5 sisters. She is survived by her children: Lisa Draper (Scott) of Azle, TX, Rick Elder of Denver, CO, Mark Elder (Terri) of Azle, TX, Cindy Smith (Michael) of Camden, AR, 11 grandchildren and 10 great grandchildren. Sister, Teresa Endres of Watertown, SD, Brother, Carl Schlenker (Rose) of Sioux Falls, SD. A host of nieces, nephews, relatives and friends.
The family would like to extend a special thank you to the following for taking such great care of our Mother and Memaw in her final days, Pearlie Macon, Vickie Champ, Doctor's Home Care, OCMC Hospice, Camden Medical Supply and Aero Care Home Medical.
A graveside service will be held at 10 am, Saturday August 28, 2021 at Mount Olivet Cemetery, 2301 N Sylvania Ave, Fort Worth, TX.
Celebration of Life service will be held at 1:30 pm, Saturday August 28, 2021 at The Orchard Event Venue, 1421 NW Pkwy, Azle, TX. Services officiated by Garland Haley. In lieu of flowers donations may be made in her honor to the American Heart Association.
EDDIE. F. BUNN
The kindness of others is a genuine reflection of the kindness of God. May the Lord bless you because you have shown this kindness through your prayers, love and support during this very difficult time. -II Smauel 2:5
Thank you all so much and may God bless you.
The family of Eddie F. Bunn
JAMES GORDON EDWARDS
James (Jim) Edwards was born March 7, 1946 to Frank and Elsie Edwards in Lansing, MI and passed away August 21, 2021 at the age of 75.
After Jim graduated high school he attended Central Michigan University until enlisting into the Army in 1965. Jim was stationed in Korea for some time and it is there that he found his love of writing and wrote for the Stars and Stripes Paper. He honorably served for 3 years and within those years he married his first wife Lorene (Whitman). The two were married in Newaygo, MI and had a little girl named Jeri.
Jim lived in many places all over throughout his life, after his divorce from Lorene, Jim was blessed to find love again with Diane; not once, but twice. Diane and Jim met in St. Johns, MI and the two were soon married. They were married for 6 years until going there separate ways. Jim moved to Arkansas and later married Mary Jane and were married until her passing. Jim later moved back to Michigan where Diane and him reconnected and spent the remainder of their days together until Jim's passing.
If you had the pleasure of knowing Jim, you would know that he became the managing editor of the Camden News in December 1995. Prior to that he worked as a reporter for the El Dorado News-Times. During his time at the Camden News, he helped develop many young reporters. He never backed down from delivering the verifiable facts to readers. He was a member of the Civitans in Camden until they dissolved. He worked as Managing Editor and sports writer covering the Harmony Grove Hornets up until his retirement in 2013. After his retirement, he continued to help in the newspaper industry. He filled in as managing editor at our sister newspaper the Magnolia Banner-News after their long-time managing editor retired. Jim is probably most known for his Sunday columns that often featured stories of his time in the Frenchport community. He loved his animals and his old home in Frenchport that was reportedly haunted. He would often tell stories to his co-workers about the old Burkett home and how he could often smell things cooking when no one was cooking. Jim continued to write columns for the Camden News and Banner-News up until his death. His wealth of knowledge and advice on all things print media will be greatly missed.
Jim is preceded in death by his parents, his wife Mary Jane, and granddaughter Brandi Nolen.
He is survived by his love Diane, daughter; Jeri (Chris) Fucile, grandson; Daniel Fucile, step-daughters Tracie Taylor and Missie Sinquefield, grandchildren; Brett Taylor, Blaine Nolen, and Eric Nolen, great grandchildren; Hailey Jane Taylor and Elaina Taylor.
