Marybeth Howard

A service commemorating the life of Marybeth Howard will be shared with family and friends held at 11 am on Wednesday, July 1, 2015 at Piney Grove AME Church with Pastor Claire Rhodes, Officiant. The family will receive friends from 6-7pm on Tuesday, June 30, 2015. On November 6, 1952, Marybeth Howard was born to James and Elizabeth Jones Howard in Chicago Illinois. The fifth of seven children born between them, Marybeth was raised a Roman Catholic and attended St. Cyril Catholic School for her primary grades. At the age of 7 the family purchased and moved their family home out of the path of the infamous Dan Ryan Expressway into a quite community on the south side of Chicago. There she attended Frank I Bennett Elementary School and J M Harlan High School, graduating in 1969. Following graduation, and a brief stint at Southeast Junior College, Marybeth decided to follow in her mother’s footsteps and pursued a career in cosmetology. She enrolled in Selan’s School of Beauty in 1970 and excelled in her studies, specializing in hair color. She was awarded her license in 1972 and was offered a scholarship by Selan’s to become a licensed instructor of cosmetology, which she acquired in 1973. After her mother’s death in 1977, Marybeth took over management of the family beauty shop and attended the Cosmopolitan Chamber of Commerce School of Business, receiving a certificate of achievement upon completion. While a consummate entrepreneur, the real love of her life arrived in the fall of 1994, when she gave birth the her first (and only) child, James L. Howard. He became the primary focus of her life, and that along with declining health was a primary consideration in her decision to relocate to her mother’s hometown of Arkadelphia, Arkansas in September 2001. Upon her arrival she quickly reconnected with relatives and, never being shy, made numerous new friends. She soon join West end Presbyterian Church, serving as an elder and enjoyed watching her son’s growth as a Christian over the next 10 years. As a young adult, Marybeth ran a prospering business and enjoyed a full social life. She had numerous friends and a variety of interest. In addition to scouring resale shops for furniture to refinish, Marybeth loved to travel and took regular vacations to Caribbean and Mexican locations. But her favorite form of travel was via cruise ship. After her first cruise in 1980, Marybeth took a cruise every year thereafter through 1989, convincing everyone she could that they needed to cruise as well. Her last vacation was taken in the Spring of 2010, where she realized her dream of taking her son, James, on a cruise vacation. On Sunday, June 21, 2015 Marybeth’s health took a turn for the worst, resulting in her hospitalization at CHI St. Vincent Hospital in Hot Springs Arkansas, where at the age of 63 on June 26, 2015 Marybeth was called upon by God’s Holy Command to depart this world and begin her eternal life in the presence of the Lord. She was preceded in death by her parents, brothers Donald Howard Sr. (Jeanne), and Ronald Jones Howard (Beatrice), sister LaDonna Howard, and a total of 5 aunts and 5 uncles. Marybeth leaves behind her son James L. Howard, sisters Jacqueline D’Aunoy and Charmaine “Tina” Hamer, brother Lynn Howard, Sisters-in-Law Jeanne Howard and Beatrice Julian, Brother-in-Law Oscar Hamer, Aunts Maggie Jean Culmore and Lucille Carter, Uncle Luther Jones, nephews LesterLang, Danny Lang, lDonald Howard Jr. (Nicole), Alonzo Hamer, Ronald Stampley and Gabriel Hamer; nieces Michan Lang, Melanie Williams (Eddie), Lolita Johnson (Rodney), and great nieces and nephews Jennifer, Ashley, Jillian, Jasmine, Jamie, Jazmine and Savanah, Arian, Amir, Brandin, Addison, Clark, Devin and Jadin as well as a host of other relatives and friends.