Erma Jewel Cain McDonald

Mrs. Erma Jewel Cain McDonald, 100, of Blytheville, passed from this life Saturday, Aug. 6, 2011, at St. Bernards Regional Medical Center in Jonesboro. Born to William Thomas and Allie Prudence Gill Cain in Bruce, Miss., she was a homemaker and attended Clear Lake Baptist Church.

Erma came to the Blytheville area in 1933 at the age of 22 with her family and farmed land in the Clear Lake area and made payment for the land with one bale of cotton per year. She married William Hiram McDonald, who preceded her in death. From this marriage she raised five daughters and one son.

To her, "Homemaker" was more than just a word. It was a lifestyle of challenging responsibilities which she faced every day to ensure her family was provided for. She lived her life by example and instilled in each child certain values and principles which would be with them all their lives. What was it about this woman that caused you to see her as such a devoted mother, grandmother and great-grandmother? It was not a complicated, center of attention, look-at-me kind of love, but rather a simplistic, heart warming love for her family.

If you asked her about her longevity, she would probably say cornbread and sweet potatoes. Every day, she would gather her ingredients, her black iron 6" pan and make cornbread, which she loved to mix with buttermilk. She also loved honey in her coffee.

At the age of 100 she had to give up her gardening and growing roses which she loved so much. She also loved animals of all kinds. She would help provide food and care for any she would come in contact with. She also loved to watch wrestling. She had the channels and show times written down on a piece of paper beside her chair.

Her parents, husband and grandchildren, Neil Crabtree, Laura Barton Small and Lesa Tomlinson Maxwell, preceded her in death.

She leaves her children, Marian Barton of Tunica, Miss., Jimme and Charles E. Cater of Fallbrook, Calif., Bobbe Tomlinson of Blytheville, Polly Pruitt of West Memphis, Bill and Kathy McDonald of Little Rock, Johnnie and John R. Taylor of Blytheville;

Her grandchildren, Clay and Paula Barton, Marian Nell Cater, Denise Cater, Phyllis McClain, Tom and Alex Cater, Sherry and Rick Bodle, LuAnn McDowell, Lindee Wiederkehr, Ann and Ralph Morgan, Lyn and Earl Blair, Lee Pruitt, Michelle Taylor Pitts, Meredith H. and Brad Wallace, Nikki McDonald and Greg and Rene Alexander; and

Twenty-three great-grandchildren and 10 great-great-grandchildren.

Funeral services will be held at 2 p.m. Wednesday in the Cobb Funeral Home Chapel with the Rev. Coy Camp, Dr. Jimmy Russell and the Rev. Robert Duhon officiating. Burial will be in Dogwood Cemetery. The family will receive friends from 1 p.m. until service time Wednesday at Cobb Funeral Home. Condolences may be emailed to cobbfuneralhome@sbcglobal.net