Stories from Tuesday, March 9, 2021

Oliver Dempsey Cook, 86, of Pineville, passed away Saturday, March 6, 2021, at White River Health Care and Rehab in Calico Rock. He was born Jan. 2, 1935, in Jonesboro and was a member of the Church of Christ. Originally from Black Oak, He served as mayor of Black Oak for many years and a founding member of the Craighead County Waste Authority. ...

On Monday, at approximately 4 p.m., Mississippi County Sheriff’s Department dispatchers contacted the Blytheville Police Department requesting officers respond to a convenient store located in the 3600 block of South Division in Blytheville in reference to a person at that location that had been shot...

Birdie Redd was born June 30, 1948 in Turrell to the late George Jackson and the late Odelia Ware Jackson. She did clerical work for Systex and was a member of Mt. Moriah M.B. Church in Blytheville. Mrs. Redd passed away March 5, 2021, at NEA Baptist Memorial Hospital in Jonesboro at the age of 72. She was preceded in death by her father, George Jackson; mother, Odelia Jackson; husband, Rev. C.L. Redd; 13 brothers and three sisters...

Kathryn Gunkel, 73, a devoted Christian, mother, grandmother, and friend, died at her home in Blytheville on March 7, 2021. Kathryn and her husband John pastored churches in southern California for over 20 years. She was a faithful member of Connection Church in Blytheville. With a smile as big as her heart, Kathryn had boundless energy which she invested in family. She loved her family unconditionally...

Isaac Johnson Jr. was born Oct. 6, 1952, to the late Isaac Johnson Sr. and Mary Ellen Davis Johnson in Luxora. Isaac departed this life Sunday, March 6, 2021, at Advocate South Suburban Hospital in Chicago, Ill., at the age of 68. He was preceded in death by his parents...