Helen Louise Etheridge Toole, age 97, passed away on January 23, 2022. She was born in Ashley County to Hampton Allen and Minnie Moore Etheridge, and grew up in a robust, happy home. As a young girl, Helen became a Christian and joyfully served Christ throughout her life. She graduated from Hamburg High School and attended the University of Arkansas at Monticello where she met her lifetime sweetheart, Stacey Laurie Toole, Jr. from McGehee.
Helen and Stacey were married while Stacey served in the US Air Force as a flight instructor in World War II. During the war, Helen taught in a one-room schoolhouse and began her domestic skills by teaching herself to knit and crochet. After the War ended, Stacey graduated from the Kansas City School of Dentistry in Missouri, and later began his dental practice in Warren, AR, where Helen began to create her own robust, happy home. For the next 60 years, she energetically lived out her faith while making a warm, welcoming home in Warren.
She was the epitome of a homemaker. She made hard work look easy with beautiful results. She excelled in gardening, cooking, and sewing. She was an active member of the First Baptist Church where she taught Sunday School, Bible Study, the Women’s Missionary Union, and the Warren Garden Club. Her heart was kind and loving. She had given the Spirit of God free reign in her life. She lived an authentically selfless example for her four children, Tommy, Laurie, Drew, and Jonette.
Helen is survived by her children: Tommy Toole (Sandra) of Lindale, TX, Laurie Burton (Mike) of Alpharetta, GA, Drew Toole (Kay) of Rogers, AR, and Jonette Davis of Maumelle, AR. Helen had a special place in her life for her nine beloved grandchildren: Tylar Burton, Wes Toole (Kacey), Benjamin Burton (Dana), Amy Hanley (Kevin), Katherine Smith (Jeremy), Daniel Toole (April), Emily Townsend (Tyler), Jessica Clanton (Jacob), and Andrew Davis. She is also survived by 18 great-grandchildren, numerous cherished nieces and nephews, and one brother, Raymond Etheridge of Granger, TX. Preceding her in death are her parents, her husband of 55 years, Stacey, sister Mary Sawyer, sister Joy Howell, and brothers Hampton Etheridge and James Etheridge.
Funeral service was held 2:00 p.m. Thursday, January 27, 2022 at Oakland Cemetery with Dr. Jerry Richardson officiating. Burial was in Oakland Cemetery by Frazer’s Funeral Home. Pallbearers were Wes Toole, Ben Burton, Daniel Toole and Andrew Davis.
Memorial gifts may be made to the Hampton and Minnie Etheridge Scholarship, UAM Foundation Fund, PO Box 3520, Monticello, AR 71656.
