Martha Josephine Williams Adair (’40), 97, of Searcy, died March 23. She spent most of her adult life in Grove, Oklahoma, where she and her late husband, Cullen, owned the Ford dealership. She was a member of Grove Church of Christ and, after moving to Arkansas to be closer to her family, College Church of Christ. She loved gardening, quilting and travel, but her greatest love was children, and she taught the cradle roll class at church until late in her life. She is survived by two children, Ann Hobby (’69) and Charles (’71); 10 grandchildren; 20 great-grandchildren; and one great-great-grandchild.
Harold Edward Holland (’45), 90, of Nashville, Tennessee, died May 5, 2015. He earned his doctorate in library science from Columbia University. He and his late wife, Gerry Young (’47), served as missionaries in Japan from 1950-54. He served part time as a minister and was a song leader, deacon and elder. He also worked in private industry and education before becoming a professor of library science at University of Missouri-Columbia from 1968-80. He later worked at Pepperdine University where he retired in 1993 from his position as director of libraries. He is survived by his children, Robert, Kenneth, Luanne (’82) and John; six grandchildren; and one great-grandchild.
Bessie Mae Pryor
Bessie Mae Ledbetter Pryor (’46), 92, of Searcy, died April 8. She married the late Joseph E. Pryor (’37), in August 1946. After their marriage, she taught home economics at Harding for two years. She also worked as J.D. Bales’ secretary and for an attorney until the couple adopted their three children. She sponsored Regina social club for 39 years and opened her home to TNT men’s club, the Petit Jean staff, Alpha Chi, and Friendship Home Extension and Greenskeepers Garden Club friends. She served as past president of the Searcy Council of Garden Clubs, Home Extension Club, Garden Club and Associated Women for Harding and was northeast district director of Arkansas Federation of Garden Clubs. She was a Brownie Scout leader for 10 years. At College Church of Christ, she taught the 2-year-olds for many years. In 2006 she received the National Council of AWH Worthy Woman Award and the Lifetime Achievement Award in 2008. She was?a certified judge and teacher of flower arranging and directed and catered countless numbers of weddings in the area. She was preceded in death by her husband and a son, Jody (’92). She is survived by two daughters, Beverly Jo (’76) and Susan Hodges (’82); and a granddaughter.
Etta Maye White Coil (’52), 86, of Florence, Alabama, died March 16. She and her husband of 42 years, Charles R. Coil Sr. (’52), met at Harding. She briefly taught at Mars Hill Bible School and completed her teaching career at Wilson Elementary School from 1970-90. She was first lady of Heritage University (originally known as International Bible College) from 1971-90 when her husband retired as president. She is survived by four children, Charles (’77), Charlotte Martin (’79), Christopher and Carole Medley (’85); six grandchildren; and seven great-grandchildren.
Bill Rushton
William Fay “Bill” Rushton Jr. (’53), 89, of Searcy, died May 9. He was an Army veteran, church camp director, Boy Scout leader, Harding professor of biology from 1960-95, three-time distinguished teacher at Harding, and church deacon. He was preceded in death by his first wife, Joyce Baker. He is survived by his wife, Fay
Cleveland; three children, Teresa Purcell (’72), Mary K. Gerken (’78) and Benjamin (’86); two grandchildren; six step-grandchildren; and 12 step great-grandchildren.
James Conway Sexson (’59), 83, of Fairfield Bay, Arkansas, died Nov. 24, 2015. He was a member of Eglantine Church of Christ and a song leader. He is survived by his wife of 58 years, Doris; two daughters, Kimberly and Peggy; four grandchildren; and one great-granddaughter.
Jeutonne Patten Brewer (’60), 76, of Jamestown, North Carolina, died April 5. She received her master’s and doctorate from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She and her late husband, Chris, lived in Germany where she taught at the School for American Children prior to moving to Jamestown in 1967 where she taught at University of North Carolina-Greensboro for 30 years serving as assistant dean of arts and sciences and as an associate professor of English linguistics. She also was a published author. She is survived by her sister, Clarice Whitmarsh.
Ben Morse Camp (’61), 77, of Bella Vista, Arkansas, died Feb. 24. He was a teacher and coach for Monett, Missouri, schools and a business owner. He moved to Bella Vista 20 years ago and attended Bella Vista Church of Christ. He is survived by his wife, Wanda; three children, Jeffrey Mathis, Stephanie Camp and Lisa Nash; five grandchildren; and 12 great-grandchildren.
Mary Jane Christmas Underwood (’61), 77, of Searcy, died June 27. She served as a missionary in New England, taught school two years, and was a homemaker. In the 1990s, she made several short-term mission trips to Hungary. She worked with World Bible School and Meals on Wheels and was a member of Cloverdale Church of Christ. She is survived by her husband of 54 years, Eugene (’61); four children, Lawrence Jr. (’89), Sheila Vamplin (’88), Lisa Fuller (’91) and Alan (’94); two siblings, Dorothy Escue (’64) and Charles; and nine grandchildren.
Yoshio Inomata (’61), 81, of Orleans, Massachusetts, died Dec. 15, 2015, after a 16-year battle with prostate cancer. He was COO of Shawnee Press from 1963-85, represented Summy Birchard Music in Tokyo from 1985-88, and spent 14 years in New York City finishing his music publishing journey as a senior vice president of the Harry Fox Agency/ National Music Publishers Association. He is survived by his wife of 53 years, Suzanne Lois Speer (’64), two sons, Kenji and Tomio; and five grandchildren. (16 Uncle Bens Way, Orleans, MA 02653)
Dennis Orie Peugh (’64), 74, of Central Point, Oregon, died Feb. 28, 2015. He was an accountant for more than 40 years with Molatore, Peugh, Scroggin & Peterson CPAs, working his way up to senior managing partner. He was a member of the church of Christ and enjoyed camping, hunting, fishing and traveling. He is survived by his wife of 52 years, Anne DeHoff (’66); five children, Sharon Simmons, Glen, Carl, Andrea Crisp and Jeanese Poole; a sister, Donna (’61); and 13 grandchildren.
Max E. Hager (’65), 73, of Mentone, California, died May 3. For many years he lived in New York City and was designer and maker of costumes for Broadway shows. Later, he was head of wardrobe for the Siegfried and Roy Show in Las Vegas. He is survived by his sister, Silvia Waites (’62).
Bonnie Mignon Pitt Bailey (’70), 68, of Abilene, Texas, died May 30. For more than 30 years, she was an administrative assistant at Abilene Christian University. She is survived by her husband, Fred (’70); three children, Amber Perez, Alex and Stan; a brother, Paul Pitt (’67); six grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren.
Charles Morris Cooper (’70), 67, of Oxford, Mississippi, died April 17. He was a member of Oxford Church of Christ where he served as elder and deacon. He was the first ecologist hired by the United States Department of Agriculture where he pioneered the water quality research program for the U.S. government. During his 30-year tenure, he served as research leader of water quality and ecological processes unit and authored/ co-authored more than 300 journal articles, book chapters and abstracts. He received seven USDA leadership awards. He is survived by his wife, Judy Coffman (’68); two children, Charles and Kimberly Wilson; two sisters, Paula Olbricht and Lisa Adams; and three grandchildren.
Bernie Harkness
Bernie Carroll Harkness (’70), 70, of Yuma, Arizona, died Jan. 25. He earned his doctorate in ministry from The Graduate Theological Foundation and worked as the chaplain for Yuma Regional Medical Center from 1993-2005. He also served as a minister at several churches and was an honorary lifetime member of the
Certified Chaplains’ Association. He is survived by his wife, Betsy; five daughters, Roseann Overton, Rebecca Rose, Carol Jean Blanton, Melissa Hopkins and Tabitha Fannin; a sister, Janice Moore; 19 grandchildren; and 11 great-grandchildren.
Janet Leigh Parrish (’71), 67, of Eads, Tennessee, died Feb. 24. She was a real estate agent for more than 20 years. She is survived by her husband of 44 years, Garry (’69).
Garry Lee Pack (’72), 67, of Houston, died May 28. He received a Master of Science in chemistry from Louisiana State University and spent his career as a chemical engineer in the petrochemical industry. He was a marathon runner and a member of the church of Christ. He was preceded in death by his wife, Kathy Jean Clay (’72). He is survived by his children, Laura Williams and Christina Cole; and four grandchildren.
Nancy Carol Johnson Ratliff (’74), 67, of Imperial, Missouri, died May 4 after a seven-year battle with ALS (Lou Gehrig’s Disease). She is survived by her husband, Greg (’73); her parents, Richard “Dick” (’60) and Joyce Johnson ; and a brother, Bill.
Mary Shock
Mary Ruth Shock (’74), 64, of Searcy, died June 14. She was director of the social work program at Harding where she was named distinguished teacher in 1984. She also was named Social Worker of the Year for the state of Arkansas in 1988. She was member of the church of Christ. She is survived by two brothers, Jay (’73) and Jack (’80).
Debbie Bachman Jenks (’75), 63, died May 2, from multiple myeloma. She served as a missionary with her husband in Brazil from 1981-89. They ministered at churches in Oklahoma and Texas. She is survived by her husband of 40 years, Duane (’76); two sons, Tracy and Marcos; her mother, Mary Bachman; and three siblings, Don and David Bachman and Anita Lackey.
Anthony Keith “Tony” Sneed (’78), 62, of Memphis, Tennessee, died July 14. He graduated from The Memphis Police Academy where he served for the Memphis Police Department. After an injury ended his policing career, he began working in security and founded his own business, A.S.K. Barnes Security & Investigations. He was a musician most known for his roles as bassist and vocalist for The River Bluff Clan, a three-time winner of the Grammy’s Premier Player Award for Band of the Year. He is survived by his wife, Karen; a son, Blaze (’14); two stepchildren, Allison Carson and Andrew Yarbrough; and three siblings, Dennis Lee, Sandra Jubinville and Tammy Moore.
Nita Allen Cochran (’79), 59, of Searcy, died May 31. She directed Court Appointed Special Advocates of White County for five years and with her husband, Ross, directed Camp Tahkodah from 2004-11. She was a member of Downtown Church of Christ. She is survived by her husband, Ross (’79); children, Chris (’09), Allen (’12) and Hannah; and three sib- lings, Jan Smith (’82) and Marshall and Stan Allen.
Vernon Dale Beach (’81), 56, died May 29. He proudly served his country for 25 years in the U.S. Navy as a commander. He is survived by his wife, Gail; three children, Chris (’11), Phillip (’12) and Sara Simon; parents, Venton (’86) and LaVerne Crowson (’55) Beach ; four siblings, Diane Wood (’77), Alan (’78), Kenneth (’80) and Jon (’88); and a grandson.
Randall Lee Burrus (’84), 56, of Beebe, Arkansas, died March 26. He worked in the fashion industry and owned an event planning business in Atlanta, San Francisco and New York City. He is survived?by his parents John and Eva Healy (’91); and three brothers, Steven (’83), David (’88) and Darren (’95).
Timothy Donald Smith (’93), 47, of Searcy, died March 24. He is survived by his mother, Ann Cowan, and two sisters, Cynthia Purkey (’89) and Andrea Smith (’97).
Thomas Bartholomew Austin (’13), 32, died April 1 from complications of lupus. He is survived?by his wife, Jennyfer Deister (’09); his father, Thomas Austin; his mother, Kathy Buhl; and two sisters, Tanya Regna and Katrina Cook.
Lee Roberts , 90, of Lubbock, Texas, died May 6. He was a former missionary to Belgium, art teacher at Harding, and chair of the art department at Lubbock Christian University from 1970- 84, where he retired in 1994. He was preceded in death by his wife, Margaret Clampitt (’48).
Nancy Ann Gurley Pool , 78, of Higginson, Arkansas, died July 1. She worked in the custodial department from 1987-96. She and her husband housed foreign exchange students for Harding. She is survived by her husband of 61 years, Charles; four children, Chuck, Frances Cherry, Stephanie Davis and Melanie; three siblings, Charles Gurley, Lavonia Miller and Sherry Harden; six grandchildren; and nine great-grandchildren.
Chris McKinney , 54, of Searcy, died May 9 from cancer. He worked as a master printer at Harding Press for more than 30 years. He is survived by two sons, Joshua and Matthew; his mother, Joanne Wilkinson McKinney; three siblings, Linda Baker (’79), Patty McKinney (’81) and Mike (’86); and a grandson.
Karen Elizabeth Mayes , 50, of Searcy, died May?27 of complications following heart surgery. She earned her Bachelor of Arts degree from Arkansas Tech University and has held jobs in administration and communications, most recently with almost nine years at Harding. She was a professional clown, member of Cloverdale Church of Christ, and served with the Chickasha, Oklahoma, Festival of Light. She is survived by her husband of 29 years, David; two sons, Jared (’14) and Justin; her mother, Vera Martin; two brothers, Neal and Larry Martin; and a granddaughter.
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