Charles Arthur Smith 1980 – 2013

Today, my 2nd cousin Hayley James Smith will lay her husband to rest.  Less than a year ago we nearly lost Hayley while giving birth to her sweet baby boy Jackson Layne Smith.  She’s a fighter though and truly a miracle.  I know God has awesome plans for her, but please pray for her and the children as they navigate through these very hard times.

Friends are setting up a meal train, and donations would be appreciated for the children to the scholarship fund at Red River Federal Employees Credit Union acct #739517

Charles Arthur Smith

Charles Arthur Smith, age 32, of Texarkana, Texas, died Monday, May 27, 2013, from injuries received in an auto accident.

Charles was born June 15, 1980, in Texarkana, Texas. He was a graduate of Texas High School and was an employee of Direct TV.

Survivors include his wife, Hayley James Smith of Texarkana, Texas, one step-daughter, Carson Brooke Law of Texarkana, Texas, two sons, Charles Austin Smith and Jackson Layne Smith of Texarkana, Texas, his mother and step-father, Wanda and James Lee of Texarkana, Texas, three sisters, Tonya Smith Berton of Texarkana, Arkansas, Ashley Smith and Lori Irving of California, and four brothers, Sam Smith of Texarkana, Arkansas, Dewayne Smith and Edward Smith of Texarkana, Texas, and Johnny Lovette of Dallas, Texas.

Memorial services will be at 4:00 P. M. Friday at the Chapelwood Funeral Home with Rev. Josh Lee and Rev. Hal Haltom officiating.

Memorials may be made to: Scholarship Fund for his children, Red River Federal Employees Credit Union.

Smith Family

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Remembering my Grandmother – Mary Virginia Ball Parks

Today, if my grandmother Mary Parks were still here, she would be 100 years old.  I can’t imagine.  She’s been gone since 2007 and it seems like forever.

She was such a vital part of making me who I am. From the time my grandfather died in 1978, she was a part of my daily life because she moved in with us.  At first, we shared a room and it never really bothered me unless I wanted to play when General Hospital, Dallas, Knots Landing or Trapper John MD was on and then it was silence or risk her wrath.  She had quite the temper when she was mad, but she was still really good to me.

She rubbed Jergens Lotion on with a vengeance and to this day when I smell it, I think of her and it’s comforting.  She was there when I got home from school, she was there if I was sick.  She took me to Dr.’s and Dentist’s.  She cooked our meals and did our laundry while Mom and Dad worked.  She was always there if I wanted to go somewhere.  I can’t tell you how many hours she sat outside Indianhead Lake Pool in her lawn chair under the tree so I could swim.

She has really been on my mind today and so I put together this video with pictures from her life.  What a Wonderful World by Louis Armstrong was the very last song she heard.  I had the privilege to be with her as she left this world and went into the arms of our Father, with this song playing on my phone laying on her pillow.

I love you and miss you Poo!  Thank you for being my grandmother!

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Wedding Wednesday – Don and Kookie Hemperley

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Don and Kookie met in Kookie’s sophomore year of high school (Don was a jr.) and they were the very best of friends.

They had their first date about a year later on Halloween (maybe that’s why they both loved that holiday so much).

Don graduated one year before Kookie and during the summer entered the A F, training at Lackland AFB in San Antonio. After basic and a leave he was sent to Indiana University to study the Russian arts, life, and became a linguist. Kookie did not see Don for 10 months while he was at Bloomington, Indiana. However, they always knew they were going to be married.

Don wrote many letters and when he saved up enough to call Kookie he would. Of course they weren’t very long conversations! So, through correspondence with his parents (they didn’t have a phone) he got them to give permission for a legal document which they signed in order for Kookie to go to the court house and get the license. Since Kookie was under aged, she and her mother went and got it. Don arrived home by bus from Indiana at 5:30 PM on August 6, 1960 and by 7:30 PM they were having a church wedding at the Belcher Baptist Church, Belcher, LA.

Kookie’s best friend was her maid of honor; Don’s brother, Jesse, was his best man and Kookie’s sisters, Judy and Kitty were the candle lighters. They were married 33 years at the time of Don’s death.

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