For the record and in years to come for geneology research I believe a foot note needs to go with this obituary.
Walter was also survived by his first wife, Alice Elizabeth King of Holly Grove, Arkansas, now living in Jonesboro, Arkansas. They were married for forty years. Walter divorced her in 1992. She was the mother of their four children, Walter Layne Carruth of Cordova, Tennessee, age 54; Mark Ellis Carruth, of Weir, Mississippi, age 52; Leta Marie Carruth of Cordova, Tennessee, age 49 and Thomas David Carruth of Clarendon, age 48. Elizabeth was grandmother to Graydon Walton Carruth, Lindley Frances Carruth Shedd, Laura Marie Carruth Condry and Thomas Adam Carruth.
Walter was also survived by a second wife, Wilma Crafton Carruth of Jonesboro.
LEXA -- Walter L. Watt Carruth passed away peacefully in his sleep Sunday night, April 7, 2008, at his Phillips County farm. Born September 17, 1931, to Thomas Humphery Carruth and Lowry Gilbert Carruth, Watt was the middle child of 10 children. He was preceded in death by his parents as well as his six sisters and three brothers.
Watt is survived by his children, Layne Carruth and wife Maude of Cordova, Tenn.; Mark Carruth of Lewisville, Miss.; Leta Carruth of Cordova, Tenn.; and T. David Carruth and wife Cheryl of Clarendon, Ark.; five grandchildren, Tiffany Carruth Coe and her husband Bland Coe of Brinkley, Ark.; Graydon Carruth of Fayetteville, Ark.; Lindley Carruth Shedd and her husband Louis Shedd of Bloomington, Ind.; Laura Carruth Condry and her husband Jared Condry of Gulfport, Miss.; Adam Carruth and his wife Katie Carruth of Starkville, Miss.; and two great-grandsons, Nathan Thomas Coe and Paul Daniel Coe.
He was a deacon of the First Christian Church of Marvell and served in the National Guard during the Korean War.
A farmer all of his life, he was best known for his peach orchard. He enjoyed getting to know his customers as his friends.
Like his father, politics was his passion. He served 18 years as a Phillips County Justice of the Peace, was Chairman of the American Independent Party of Arkansas and its candidate for Governor in 1970. In a racially divided Eastern Arkansas, he earned a reputation for representing his constituents regardless of race or economic status. He drew black opposition in a predominately black district, yet won by resounding margins.
He was one of the founding fathers of Marvell Academy. From his devotion to the Academy came his proudest achievement, the education of his children. All four of them earned not only college degrees but went on to earn professional certification in their respective fields.
Walter Carruth lived his life to the fullest. He was devoted to his children and grandchildren, service to his church, his fellow man and his community. His passing, while seasoned with sadness, is cause for celebration of a life well lived. That celebration will include a time of visitation from 6-8 p.m. April 10 at Roller-Citizens Funeral Home in West Helena. Services will be held at 11 a.m. April 11 at the First Christian Church in Marvell, followed by interment in Marvell Cemetery.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the First Christian Church of Marvell.
-- information from Roller-Citizens Funeral Home
-- Edited by Jane Dearing Dennis at 21:51, 2008-04-12
