Michael Anthony Buchanan Sr., 61, died April 12, 2019, in Fayetteville. He was born February 19, 1957, to Carl and Dorthy Buchanan.
He was a graduate of Fayetteville High School and earned an associate’s degree. He was a generous, warm hearted individual who always had a smile on his face. He was so passionate about sports that he umpired and refereed games all over Northwest Arkansas. Michael was always a joy to be around and his humor and positive attitude always lit up the room.
Friends and classmates recalled his “kind and caring nature, and his ferocious competitive spirit and talent.” On the football team, his jersey was No. 1, and he played like it. He also ran track and field.
His long-time friend, Greg Flowers, was born three days earlier than Michael and died two years ago. Back in 1964, Flowers and Buchanan attended a Boys Club summer camp just before first grade. Greg called Michael “mashed potatoes” and Michael called Greg “gravy.”
Survivors included two sons, Micheal Anthony Buchanan Jr. and Tyron Mahone, and one daughter, Miranda Reamy. His service was held Saturday, April 20, at the Church of Christ in Fayetteville.
Cristina Antonia Arias, 60, passed into the arms of a greater universe and surrounded by love on March 13, 2019, in Fayetteville. She was born January 16, 1959, to Bogddy Wus and the late Eduardo M. Arias in General Roca, Rio Negro, Argentina.
Cris was raised by her mother and maternal grandmother, Cristina Korch Wus. As a young child, she moved to the United States with her mother and grandmother when her mother received a scholarship to study abroad. Her mother studied at the University of Arkansas and obtained her doctorate in comparative literature in 1967. Her Ukrainian maternal grandparents escaped post-revolutionary Russia by boat and immigrated to Argentina. Her grandmother spoke only Ukrainian and Spanish so Cris served as her English translator growing up. Her paternal grandmother was a concert pianist.
Cris attended the Fayetteville public schools, the University of Arkansas and received a Master of Social Work from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock.
Cris married and had one daughter, Ashley Barker, with her former spouse, Lonnie Barker.
Cris initially worked as a social worker for the state of Oklahoma in the rural community of Holdenville. She described the practice as “pioneer mental health services,” carrying medications in her car trunk and interacting with local officials. In 1995, she returned to Fayetteville to work for Ozark Guidance Center. Cris served as director of mental health services at Washington Regional Medical Center from 2002 until 2009, at which time she transitioned to the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences-Northwest Campus to assist in establishing the psychiatric inpatient unit at Northwest Medical Center. In 2018, she accepted a position with the Community Clinic.
Cris made numerous lifelong friends throughout her professional career. Her family and friends are grateful for the incredible support the Community Clinic gave her during her illness. Throughout her career, Cris was admired as a skilled clinician and administrator, passionate teacher, community activist and loving friend. Her work with the Judicial Equality for Mental Illness led to the founding of a crisis stabilization unit in northwest Arkansas. In 2019, she was named the University of Arkansas Social Work Department Clinical Instructor of the Year.
Cris found much joy in her work, traveling the world, enduring friendships, beloved pets, knitting and spiritual exploration. She had a gift for finding the hurt and healing it. The light of the world has momentarily dimmed with her absence but her life’s work and loving relationships have forged a brighter future.
Of all her roles, she most enjoyed and cherished being grandmother. She was intensely involved in her grandchildren’s lives. Hateya, Kavian, Aria and Kairo were the light and soul of her life.
Cris is survived by her daughter, Ashley Barker, four grandchildren, and mother, Bogddy Arias.
A memorial service will be held at 2 p.m. Tuesday, March 19, at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church.
Stephen Lee Harris died September 23, 2018, at Norman, Oklahoma. He was born May 6, 1958, in Cheverly, Maryland, the youngest of three children born to Grover and Sara Harris.
He grew up in Fayetteville and attended United Presbyterian Church. He graduated from Fayetteville High School in 1976 and then went to the University of Arkansas, where he earned a Bachelor of Science in geology. After graduation, he soon moved to Oklahoma to work in the oil industry.
The writer of an obituary for Harris said, “Stephen departed to the big oilfield in the sky.”
The writer said that Stephen, who throughout school had an acerbic sense of humor, put life quite well when he said: “Hey guys, FYI: If you are reading this then something has happened to me. No worries!!!! It’s been one helluva good ride!!!! Thanks for everything. Live long and prosper.”
Stephen Eugene McGinnis died Saturday, Aug. 11, 2018, at his home in Fayetteville, two days after his 60th birthday. He was born Aug. 9, 1958, the son of Burl Eugene and Audrey May Crumley McGinnis, who were from the Hindsville and Clifty areas.
He learned to play the fiddle at an early age and by junior high was a regular at the Arkansas Country Opry, performing weekly at the Palace Theatre on the downtown Fayetteville Square. He played country, gospel and bluegrass favorites, backing local performers such as Sarge and Shirley West as well as the visiting headliners like Jim Staggs. He also performed several times on the John Chick Show, a live variety program broadcast by KTUL-TV in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
“I recall him trying to school us in the ways of Janis Joplin when we were all into The Partridge Family and Bobby Sherman,” said Gweneth Hunter Reed, a classmate. “He was a lovely guy.”
“Steve will be greatly missed,” Bill Cunningham, another classmate, said. “He was a one-of-a-kind personality, many talents and always a friend to everybody.”
Classmate Naoto Sekiguchi recalled: “In a testament to the kind of guy he was, Stephen always treated me like I was his best friend in the times I saw him since school. He called me ‘Buddy’ and it seemed heartfelt. Even as he suffered serious health issues he always seemed to face up to them with courage and a positive mind. What I will remember him best for is his talent for music. He was always enthusiastic about cutting loose on an energetic rendition of Rocky Top.”
McGinnis grew up a member of the Immanuel Baptist Church and was baptized there. He was music director for the church and later for First Baptist Church of Greenland.
He was a 1976 graduate of Fayetteville High School, where he played in the orchestra and was president of the Library Club. When citizen band radios enjoyed a brief popularity during the 1970s, Steve could be heard many evenings using the handle “Li’l Abner.”
His interest in electronics led him to study computer science at the University of Arkansas, where he also worked as a lab technician before moving to College Station, Texas, for a job as manager of a computer lab at Texas A&M University when the university was in the early stages of establishing computing resources for students. While there, he continued his studies and also graduated from A&M’s Employee Leadership Institute in 1997. After leaving Texas A&M, Steve opened a computer repair and consulting company in Bryan, Texas. He also worked for a radio station but moved back to Fayetteville in 2009 after the death of his sister, Margaret Elaine McGinnis.
Stephen McGinnis in 1975 with a trophy for musical competition.
In recent years, Steve was confined to bed due to lymphedema, an incurable and debilitating illness that affects the limbs, primarily the legs in his case. The condition leads to swelling and creates persistent wounds.
T.O. Spicer, former pastor for Sang Avenue Baptist Church, recalled that Steve applied for disability and Medicaid after becoming disabled but that financial aid didn’t start for three months. “My wife, Martha, and I dipped into our savings and paid the three months, and Stephen paid us back every penny,” he said. “That says something about the kind of person Stephen was.” The Spicers also helped with his health care needs whenever agency personnel were not available and provided meals as well.
Steve was hospitalized for a brief period, Spicer said, and then improved with physical therapy at Katherine’s Place in west Fayetteville. He was up and able to walk short stretches when funding for the therapy ran out. Soon he was homebound again.
Sarge West, with whom Steve had played country music 40 years earlier, was one of the people who began bringing him meals, provided through the food pantry of Sang Avenue Baptist Church. Sarge would also take Steve to many appointments when he could no longer transport himself. Steve often commented on what a good friend he was.
Several of his classmates also visited and helped him during the last several years. Bill Guirl and his wife, Ampie, visited often and cooked trout dinners and vegetables for him. “He had a keen sense of humor mixed with witticisms and insights,” Bill Guirl said, adding that Steve never complained, except the one time that Guirl forgot to fillet the trout. “He told me not to forget again; please!” Guirl said.
Steve loved his cats, Princess and Sarah, but had a fondness for all animals, especially the underdogs in life.
He was preceded in death by his parents and sister, Margaret Elaine McGinnis. Survivors include several cousins.
Cremation arrangements by Beard’s Funeral Chapel in Fayetteville, Arkansas. A memorial service will be held at a future date.
Miles Lynn Patrick, 59, a resident of Farmington, died Friday, Oct. 6, 2017, at Willard Walker Hospice Home in Fayetteville after a two-year battle with glioblastoma multiforme. He was born Dec. 5, 1957, in Sapulpa, Oklahoma, the son of Carl Kenneth and Jennie Cathleen (Rowland) Patrick.
He was preceded in death by his father.
Patrick worked as a HVAC technician for more than 35 years. He was always very meticulous and took pride in his work. He enjoyed gardening, cooking and collecting coins. He loved his St. Louis Cardinals and his Razorbacks.
Survivors include his wife of 19 years, Tabatha Huffmaster Patrick. Together they had two sons, Robert James Headrick and Avery Miles Patrick as well as his honorary daughter, Tiffany Ann Caudill; three brothers, Mike Patrick and wife Darla, Scott Patrick, Andy Patrick and wife Julie; his honorary brother, Rick Duncan; his mother, Jennie Patrick; he also has several nephews and nieces whom he loved very much.
Funeral Service were Oct. 9, 2017, at Luginbuel Chapel in Prairie Grove. Burial was in the Farmington Cemetery.
The family would like to thank Hope Cancer Resource and Willard Walker Hospice House for their kindness and compassion.
Dyke Lee Jennings, 58, of Fayetteville died Saturday, July 30, 2016, in Fayetteville. He was born December 14, 1957, in Fayetteville to Charles and Bessie (Wilson) Jennings. He was a member of the Fayetteville High School class of 1976. He was a professional diesel mechanic as well as an important part of his family business, Jennings Automotive and Truck and Trailer Service.
He was survived by his wife, Donna; two sons, Chris Jennings of Farmington and Jason Jennings of Fayetteville; one brother, Cordis Johnson of Springdale, and five grandchildren.
Graveside funeral services will be held August 5, 2016, at Mount Comfort Cemetery in Fayetteville.
Beverly Jo Kreie, 60, died May 20, 2018, in Las Cruces, New Mexico. She was born Jan. 28, 1958, to Jack Conrad Kreie and Mary Jo Newlin Kreie in Torrington, Wyoming. When she was still an infant, her family moved to Northwest Arkansas where she grew up. After she graduated from Fayetteville High School, she studied under European-trained chefs and became the head chef at a popular restaurant in Little Rock for over 12 years.
In 2002, she moved to Las Cruces, New Mexico, to join her sister and then her parents, who later retired in Las Cruces. Beverly worked for several years as a chef in local restaurants and also did some private catering.
Family and friends always enjoyed her delicious food, including her creative take on lasagna, such as creamy mushroom lasagna and New Mexico-inspired green chilé chicken lasagna. She also had been an avid tennis player since her high school days. In Las Cruces, she played competitive tennis with a 4.0 league for several years.
She was survived by her sister Deborah Jean Camacho of Springfield, Tennessee; sister Jennifer Kreie of Las Cruces, New Mexico; her sister-in-law Necole Krueger Kreie; and several nieces and nephews.
She was predeceased by her parents and her brother, Wade Clinton Kreie of Little Rock, Arkansas. Her father, Jack Kreie, taught chemistry at Fayetteville High School for 29 years.
She was cremated and her remains were to be returned to Arkansas for burial alongside her parents and other family members. No local services are planned.
Gregory Eugene Flowers, 60, of Fayetteville died of heart disease Tuesday, April 18, 2017, in Springdale. He was born February 16, 1957, in Fayetteville to George and Josie Flowers. He was preceded in death by his father.
Flowers was a member of the Fayetteville High School Class, the members of which also knew him by the nickname of “Gravy” or occasionally “Gravy Train.” One friend recalled how he got the nickname: Back in 1964, Greg and Michael Buchanan attended a Boys Club summer camp. Greg called Michael “mashed potatoes” and Michael called Greg “gravy.”
Greg attended the University of Arkansas, where he became a member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity Inc. He was co-owner of Bullpen BBQ, and he formed and coached a city league basketball team named the Train Gang.
He is survived by his mother, Josie Flowers of Fayetteville; sons, Spencer Flowers of Fayetteville, Darnelle and wife Lindsey Flowers of Denver, Colorado, Monty and wife Stephanie Flowers of Fayetteville, and Johnathan and wife Sarah Flowers of Atlanta, Georgia; a daughter, Alexa Flowers of Fayetteville; a brother, George Flowers of Farmington; a sister, Tommie and husband Lawrence Davis of Little Rock; seven grandchildren; and a host of nieces and nephews.
Funeral services will be 10 a.m. Saturday, April 22, at Beard’s Chapel with Gary Noble officiating. Interment will follow in Oak Cemetery under the direction of Beard’s Chapel. The family will receive friends from 5-7 p.m. Friday, April 21, 2017 at the funeral home. Condolences at www.beardsfuneralchapel.com.
Morton Wayne “Skip” Carnes, 56, of Springdale died Monday, Sept. 29, 2014, at his home. He was born April 24, 1958, in Fayetteville, Arkansas, to Odean and Katherine Morton Carnes.
Carnes was vice president and managed Arkie Lures in Springdale. He enjoyed fishing, hunting and spending time with his granddaughter. He was an avid Razorback Basketball fan.
Survivors included his mother, Katherine and stepfather Raymond Netto, one son, Bo Carnes and wife Lesley of Fayetteville; one daughter, Laura Jade Farris and husband Joe of Lowell; two brothers, Bob Carnes and wife Mary Alice of Rogers and Timothy Carnes and wife Charlotte of Greenland; one granddaughter, Cambry Farris.
Funeral services were Oct. 4, 2014, at Sisco Funeral Chapel of Springdale. Burial followed at Shady Grove Cemetery.
Memorials may be made to Arkansas Children’s Hospital, 1 Children’s Way, Little Rock, Arkansas 72202.
Michael Lynn Bryant, 19, of Route 2, Fayetteville, died Nov. 29, 1976, at a Fayetteville hospital. He was born May 25, 1957, the son of John D. and Jessie Mullins Bryant of Fayetteville.
He was a 1976 graduate of Fayetteville High School, a student at the University of Arkansas and a member of the Church of Christ.
Survivors included his parents; his paternal grandmother, Emma Bryant of Fayetteville; and his paternal grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. Jesse Mullins of Fayetteville.
He is buried at Lower Wharton Creek Cemetery at Wharton, southeast of Huntsville, Arkansas.
His long-time friend, Greg Flowers, was born three days earlier than Michael and died two years ago. Back in 1964, Flowers and Buchanan attended a Boys Club summer camp just before first grade. Greg called Michael “mashed potatoes” and Michael called Greg “gravy.”
Cristina Antonia Arias, 60, passed into the arms of a greater universe and surrounded by love on March 13, 2019, in Fayetteville. She was born January 16, 1959, to Bogddy Wus and the late Eduardo M. Arias in General Roca, Rio Negro, Argentina.
Morton Wayne “Skip” Carnes, 56, of Springdale died Monday, Sept. 29, 2014, at his home. He was born April 24, 1958, in Fayetteville, Arkansas, to Odean and Katherine Morton Carnes.
Fayetteville Class of 76 