The following was submitted by Millie McGehee:
Dear cousins, I have found a newspaper from March 10, 1936. The Courier-Index, Marianna, AR. I got this crumbled paper from our Petty cousins Martha Warren, Frank Hankins, Marie Dixon., at Lake Eufala,OK, 3-20-88. so I’m going to do my best to type it.
Ira l. Petty, aged 46 (the next words are crumbled) Mr. Petty had been ill for more than a year with a malady that was later diagnosed as cancer of the stomach. He went to Memphis about a year ago and underwent an operation. Last fall he went for a second operation and for a time seemed to be recovering. However his condition grew worse about Christmas and six weeks ago he went to specialists in Memphis for another examination. It was then he was advised of the seriousness of his malady and was told another operation would do no good. During the past six weeks he had been confined to his bed. Funeral services were conducted at the residence this afternoon at 2:30 o'clock by the Rev.J.B. Kincannon, Pastor of the Baptist Church, assisted by the Rev.W.A.Thornley, Baptist Minister, and by the Rev.J.M.Hughey, Pastor of the Methodist Church. Internment was in City Heights Cemetery. The pall bearers were Clayton Clark, John Jacks, Bryon Sutton, Ollie Sealand, Herman Corkran, V.H.Edwards, and George Allen. Mr. Petty was born in West Plains, Mo.and came to Marianna 26 yrs ago. One year later he was married to F. Moore of this city. They have one son Ira, Jr., age 10. Mr. Petty was one of the most industrious and successful farmers in Lee County. He specialized in sweet potatoes and was known as the Sweet Potato King. He was a hard worker, a good manager and made money when thousands of other farmers failed. He was held in high esteem here because of his industry and his many sterling qualities. He was kindhearted and generous to a fault. He is survived by his widow and young son, his aged parents Mr. and Mrs. F.C. Petty who reside near Marianna; by four brothers, George Petty of Marianna, A.F. Petty of Pasco, Wash., and Alvy Petty of Ann Arbor, Mich. Also by three sisters, Mrs. Jim Smith of Marianna, Mrs. Polly (Pallia) Hawkins (Hankins) of Strafford, Okla., and Mrs. Alma Poole of Oklahoma City.
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Occupation: U.S. Navy
Marital Status: Married
No. of Children: 4
From Jimmy (Allen): Amy and I have been married since June 29, 2000. We have four beautiful children: Allynah Renee 6, Makayla Fayanne 5, Jimmy Allen III 20 months, and last but not least William Henry Alexander born on April 20, 2007. I have been in the Navy for 9 years. I am currently stationed at the Navy Submarine Torpedo Facility in Yorktown, Virginia. I have been stationed on two submarines before. We live in Newport News, Virginia.
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Occupation: Administrative Technician
Marital Status: Married
No. of Children: 2
From Brenda: Hello to all, I am the middle daughter of Vaida Fern (Smith) Bunch and I live in Clinton where I have been basically my whole life. I am 54 years old and work at the Knoxville Police Department where I am an Administrative Technician (fancy title for Secretary). I have been at this position for the last six years, before that I worked for ORTEC in Oak Ridge for 25 years. I have been married three times, the first one I don't count cause it only lasted 3 months, and then twice to my second husband, Terry. We have two sons; Dewayne (30) and John (27) whom are both married and we have one grandchild on the way. Dewayne married Ashley James on 9/23/04 and started his excavating company (DH Excavation) about that time. John married Miriam Keegan on 3/13/04 and also has his own appraisal business. As my sister, Judy, stated we lived beside Paw Paw and Grandmother most of my life and it was such a blessing (except for planting the garden) and I really appreciate this reunion being held and a big THANKS for all the family that has worked so hard on this. See you all in August!
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Occupation: Squad Leader US Army
Marital Status: Married
No. of Children: 3
From Alton (Lee):
HEY YALL, I'M DANA'S SON, MARDIS' 1ST GRANDCHILD. OF COURSE YOU PROBABLY REMEMBER ME AS LEE LEE.
WELL, IT’S BEEN LONG SINCE THEN AND LONG SINCE I'VE SEEN ANY OF YOU. I AM 32 AND MARRIED, MY WIFE NAME IS MISTY AND WE'VE BEEN MARRIED SINCE 31 AUGUST 1996. WE HAVE THREE CHILDREN, ALTON L. JONES II; WE CALL HIM JR, WHO IS SIX YEARS OLD AND JUST GRADUATED FROM KINDERGARTEN. OUR OTHER TWO CHILDERN ARE TWINS, HAYDEN TAYLOR AND NATHAN TANNER. THEY ARE TWO AND FULL OF TROUBLE NOW. MISTY IS A STAY AT HOME MOM WHO KEEPS THIS FAMILY RUNNING SHE IS A GREAT MOTHER AND WIFE AND SOMETIMES UNDER APPRECIATED.
I HAVE BEEN IN THE US ARMY INFANTRY FOR THE LAST NINE YEARS, IT'S BEEN OK, and WE’VE GOTTEN TO LIVE IN A FEW NEAT PLACES SUCH AS HAWAII, COLORADO, AND NOW WASHINGTON D.C. I'VE SPENT TWO YEARS IN COMBAT OVER THERE IN THE BIG SAND BOX WE CALL IRAQ, AND NOW I'M SERVING AS A SQUAD LEADER TO WOUNDED SOLDIERS WHO BRAVELY SACRIFICED THEMSELVES FOR THE SAKE OF OUR GREAT NATION, HERE AT WALTER REED ARMY MEDICAL CENTER, WASINGTON D.C.
I'M NOT SURE IF I WILL BE ABLE TO MAKE IT TO THE REUNION, DUE TO MY JOB BEING SO DEMANDING BUT I HOPE I'LL FIND A WAY TO WORK IT OUT SO HOPE TO SEE ALL OF YALL SOON.
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Occupation: Office Manager
Marital Status: Married
No. of Children: 2
From Dana: "DANA RENEE JONES"
I guess I will start with my life when I married in 1974, I married Tommy Jones, my high school sweetie & was married for 2 1/2 yrs. We lived in Marianna, Ar. durng our marriage. We had a son named Alton "Lee" Jones, July 11,1974. Tommy & I divorced in 1976 . I married again 1976 the same year to Jim Foster & moved to West Memphis, Ar. We had a son named Jimmy "Allen" Foster March 22, 1980. I was married to Jim for 12 years.
I married again for the third time (3rd time "CHARM") June 25, 1988 to William "Boyd" Jones & still reside in West Memphis.
My husband, Boyd works for Apac of TN as an equipment operator.
I have worked for Ritter Oil Co. in Marked Tree, Ar. for 3 yrs. as an Office Manager. Before then I was a Supervisor for Americold Logistics in West Memphis for 14 yrs.
My sons are both (by the grace of God) married to wonderful wives & are blessed with beautiful children.
Lee is in the army where he is stationed in Washington D.C. and works @ Walter Reed Medical Hospital. Lee's wife's name is Misty & they have 3 boys. Jr. is 6 yrs. old, the twins are 2 1/2 yrs. old, Taylor & Tanner. Lee has served twice, one yr. each in Iraq.
Allen is in the navy where he is stationed in Newport News, Va. and builds torpedos. Allen's wife's name is Amy & they have 4 children. Allynah is 6 yrs. old, Makayla is 5, Jimmy is 1 1/2 yrs. old & the new addition is William. He was born April 20, 2007.
I am happy with my life and with my family. I look forward to sharing more @ the "Reunion". I especially love to talk about my 7 grandchildren !!!!!!
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"PHOTO "
Boyd & myself along with Allen's children before William was born .
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I have written in the "GUEST BOOK"a few times but never thought I should say who I belong to. After viewing Judy's & Michelle's introductions I see I need to introduce myself too.
I am the 2nd daughter out of 4 girls & probably the most mischevious girl of Mardis Ann "Smith" Jones who was the 6th child (3rd daughter) of Wade & Velma Smith.
I did not get to live by Paw Paw & Grandmama but Moma made a point to take our family vacations to visit our grandparents as well as our Uncles, Aunts, & Cousins during the summer or the Holidays. Grandmama & sometimes Paw Paw would make the trip from Tn. to Ar. for a visit or to take the challenge of handling 4 girls when moma was sick or in the hospital. As a child, it was frightening to not have your mom be there but Paw Paw & Grandmama were loving & patient with us & made us feel secure. As long as we sat & talked or most of the time listened to Paw Paw , he could deal with us 4 girls. Grandmama had the patience of a "Saint" & that is putting it mildly with 4 wild girls.
Most children wanted their parents to take them to Disney World or some other fun place that kids enjoy going but my highlight was to visit with my grandparents,my uncles/aunts & most of all my cousins. We would go to the different states where our cousins lived & visit one another & go to different places with all for entertainment. I never knew how blessed & how grateful I was to share that with our "Family". I have a lot of regrets in my life but one of the regrets I want to share with all, is that I allowed life to pass me by too fast while I was raising my boys & did not make that effort to allow my boys to have the privilege of knowing my Mom's side of a wonderful family. But it is not too late to start that tradition that our ancestors begun & followed down through our grandparents.
When the "Smith Reunion" comes & goes lets make a special effort to stay close whether it is by visiting each other, by mail, by phone or by the wonderful tech of E-mail. We are "ALL" responsible to keep the communication flowing through the family & to keep the "Past Memories"as well as making "New Memories" for the sake of "US" & the most important of our "Loved Ones" who have passed on.
I know there have been many "Loved Ones" that I can't remember or never had the priviledge of knowing but for the ones I do remember, love & miss are the following:
Paw Paw & Grandmama, Uncle Kay & Aunt Shirley, Uncle James, Uncle Dick, Aunt Sissy(Fern) & Uncle Philip, Uncle Bobby, my Mom (Aunt Mardis), Uncle Neal & as well as our cousins, Sandi, Nan & Rachel.
I can see" Our Loved Ones" looking down from "HEAVEN" saying
"Family, please stay close, love one another no matter what, as if it were your last day". We never know when GODwill call us HOME. Live life pleasing to GOD. Keep that in your mind, heart & spirit always..
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Occupation: Medical Secretary
Marital Status: Married
No. of Children: 3
From Doris: I'll start this page for everyone. Bob and I have been married for almost 27 years. We've lived in Dexter, Michigan since 1990. Our daughters are Casey (22 years old), Kelly (18 years old), and Mary (13 years old).
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Occupation: Housekeeping
Supervisor/Walnut Grove
Living Center
Marital Status: Married
No. of Children: 3
From cheryl: Husband: Dan Mitchell (5-08-49)
Occupation: Maintenance Supervisor/Facility Manager:FRANKLIN ELECTRIC
Children:
Mary Elizabeth (6-11-85)
Occupation: Personal Trainer and Nutrion Specialist
Lauren Whitney (11-19-87)
Occupation: Dental receptionist
John Whitman (5-09-90)
High School Senior
Dan & I were married on April 18th 1981. We have survived through the years by God's grace (because we both have our stories about each other.) But we are also not in denial that we have issues. Our three lovely children can also vouch for our issues. We all love each other anyway despite our faults. We are not a perfect Cleaver Family but are SURVIVORS. Just thought I would share all of this because in todays society it is almost impossible to survive marriage.
By reading other peoples messages I see that we are blessed like our grandparents with many children and grandchildren. My next question is how many Smith boys do we have to carry out the Smith name? All I can think of right now is Robbie's son "Nathan". If he is the only one left ,we better pray that he is seedbearing. It's all on you Nathan!
I have added a new picture of my family. It was taken in 2005. Top L-R- Jonathon (Mary beth's fiance') Me, & John. Bottom L-R- Mary Beth, Dan & Lauren. This picture was taken in Branson Mo.
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Occupation: Legal Secretary
Marital Status: Married
No. of Children: 4
From Michelle: Hi all! I thought I'd put a little more information in to reacquaint myself! I will be 54 this July 25th -- also my husband, Sam's birthday, and of course, PawPaw Smith's birthday! I moved from Memphis to Omaha in 1973 and have been here pretty much ever since. I have 4 children -- Jen, age 35; Josh, age 30; Sara, age 22; and NIck, age 20. I have 3 grandchildren (Jen's kids) - Shelby, age 13; Jesse, age 10 (soon to be 11 on July 28th - Nan's birthday); and Abby, age 7. Currently, all of the kids live in Omaha, although they have all moved out on their own (Thank GOD!) and we see each other all the time. Sam and I currently live with his mom; she's elderly and needs some assistance -- so it just sort of worked out that way. I've been married FOUR times -- twice to my current husband, Sam. Thought I'd just throw that out there -- Dana says I hold the current record! I've been a legal secretary for Union Pacific Railroad for 26-1/2 years and can honestly say I love my job. We owned and managed a Pizza Parlor business for two years before the almighty Walmart bought the property from the landlord we were leasing from. It was quite the experience, but I've never been so tired in all my life. One full time job is plenty, let me tell ya! We did, however, make an AWESOME pizza! My husband is 1/2 Italian, so it's in the genes I guess! For those of you who don't know who I am, I'm Wade (Kay) Smith Jr. & Shirley (McConnell) Smith middle daughter. My sister, Sandi, is now deceased, but my baby brother Wade (Chip) III is alive and kicking and he and his wife Rocky will be coming down with me to the reunion. Can't wait to see everyone!
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