of Yellville, AR

July 22, 1918 - November 10, 2017

Minnie Musgrove was born on July 22, 1918 in Greasy Creek community, Marion County, Arkansas to John Patrick Cochran (1874-1946) and Frona Leila Belle Cline Cochran (1881-1956).
John Patrick's parents were George Logan Cochran (1843-77) and Louisa Isabel Carson (1845-1920). George Logan's parents were John Cochran (1796-1818) and Sarah Johnston (1800-60); Louisa's parents were James M. Carson (1809-78) and Rebecca McFarland (1813-90). All were born North Carolina.
Frona's father, Robert Francis Cline (1850-1923), was born in Tennessee (ancestry unknown) and her mother, Sarah Elizabeth Rowden (1855-95), was born in Baxter County. Sarah's parents, Hooper J Rowden (1824-73) and Lydia Ann Francis Messick (1833-1904), were both born in Tennessee.
Minnie's siblings (all deceased) were Troy Lee (1906-78), George Donaghey (1907-65), Chase Evert (1910-99), Lila Mae Oxford (1914-89), Doris Mildred Johnson (1919-2012) and Mary Gail Williams (1922-2012).
The fifth of seven children, Minnie grew up and was educated in Marion County, graduating from Yellville-Summit High School in 1936. Her first job was as a nanny caring for her infant niece Brenda Oxford; later she worked as a waitress in Yellville.
She dated a few local boys but when the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) arrived to build the park at Buffalo River, one of the CCC boys was a tall skinny black-haired guy from southern Arkansas named Walter James ''Jack'' Musgrove. His story is that he saw a slim blonde woman on the porch of the café the day the trucks rolled into Yellville and he went to find her on his first trip to town. However they met, he stole her heart and they were soon dating. They had many good times with their friends in Yellville: picnics at the Rock House, dances in town and family dinners at the Cochran's. Time went by and they were married on December 12, 1940 in a double wedding with her sister Mildred (Midge) to another CCC boy, George Riley Johnson.
Times were tough in the Ozarks and in 1941 the newlywed couple moved to Yakima, Washington, to find work in the apple orchards where her brothers Troy and Chase were already employed. Minnie brought the kitchen skills learned in her mama's kitchen to their new life. Living in an apple orchard, she developed her trademark apple pie recipe. She tried her hand at thinning apples until she fell from a ladder and was banned from climbing--she found she was more suited to sorting apples seated at a conveyor belt.
When the war came Jack received an agricultural deferment. Minnie said in later years that she was so glad that they worked in the apples so Jack didn't have to go overseas. One interesting outcome from wartime rationing was their aversion to strong coffee; Minnie's coffee was basically brown water. Another wartime development was that Minnie learned how to drive, just in case she was left alone.
The war brought uncertainty; Minnie said that they delayed having a family until the war was over. An unnamed boy was born in 1946 but lived only 3 days. To their great delight, Jack came along in 1948 and Jeanne in 1949, both in Yakima. Minnie loved being a mom. She made clothes for both kids, cheered their development and read and sang to them constantly.
With a family to feed, Jack decided to leave the apples and seek a different kind of career. He found a job with Sears, first in Yakima, then in Phoenix, Arizona. The climate in Phoenix was very hot -- Minnie fried an egg on the sidewalk to illustrate to the kids that they should never go outside barefoot. She was on constant lookout for scorpions, which she annihilated with a broom.
This move to Phoenix was the first of many moves that characterized their lives for 30 years. Renting furnished houses meant the family packed everything into a small home-built trailer that could easily be towed behind the car. One sizable acquisition that had to fit in the trailer was Minnie's pride and joy--a sewing machine with its own built-in work table.
After a brief return to Yakima, the family moved to the Gulf Coast of Texas where Minnie's brother George was a welder for Brown&Root. Jack joined the company in 1954 and worked for them until he retired in 1981. At this time Minnie led the family's weekly attendance at the Baptist Church.
Minnie now had kids in school and she was everyone's favorite room mother, making cookies or cakes for every holiday. She supported the teachers and was often in the classroom. She could soothe a scraped knee while quietly demanding respect from the class bully. She was a low-key force of nature-never loud, never overbearing-just sound common sense and enough love for everyone.
She took her job as a wife and mother seriously. Her first mission was to keep her family fed and clothed. She baked every day--cakes, cookies, pies. She washed and ironed the family's clothes. She packed her husband's lunch and cooked supper for all. She sewed clothes for Jeanne. She made sure the kids had chores and that they did them. Moving all the time meant continuously decorating the next house, reusing curtains, making slip covers for the sagging sofa, installing new linoleum or cleaning another refrigerator. She faced the challenge of constantly moving by using her positive energy and creative will to create a comfortable home for her family.
Later, with her kids off to college, Minnie discovered that she was an artist and began painting landscapes and flowers, filling the house with her paintings. She perfected her apple pie recipe. She rediscovered quilting, a skill she learned as a teenager, often partnering with her sister Mae to quilt the squares that Mae pieced.
Grandkids Jack and Missie brought new love and a nickname: ''Mimi.'' Frequent visits and babysitting brought her joy and opportunities for spoiling. She always had a secret stash of goodies when they came to visit. As they grew older, their annual summer visit was a special treat for all.
Retirement came in 1981 and Jack and Minnie moved ''home'' to Yellville, rejoining and reconnecting with a community of family and friends after a forty-year absence. They bought a little house at the top of the hill on Broadway. For eight years they planted a garden and visited all their friends. They hosted a CCC reunion for the ''boys,'' most past 60. Minnie taught Jack how to make jam and to can beans. She joined the quilting bee; she kept on painting. They were active in the First Baptist Church.
Unfortunately, Jack died in 1989, but Minnie now had plenty of time to visit her new grandson Chase for weeks at a time in California, Oregon and Massachusetts. She made costumes for him. She read every book he owned a zillion times. She made more costumes. She baked and sang and spread her positive energy to another young person.
And then there were great-grandchildren -- Cameron, Corin, Madison and Virginia for her to love and cherish.
''Minnie GoGo'' lived independently for 27 years, zipping around town in her little silver car. She went to quilting and sometimes painted. She wrote her life story and worked on family genealogy. She rarely missed Sunday School. She enjoyed the companionship of her niece Brenda, her other relatives and many friends. She was a gracious hostess, enjoying entertaining and cooking for her friends and family at Turkey Trot or whenever they came to Yellville. After she quit driving a few years ago and Brenda began taking her places, she hardly slowed down. Every member of her family and her many friends knew that Minnie's house was a place to go for lively conversation, good food, weak coffee and total love.
Last year at age 98 her health forced her to move into the assisted living facility at Flippo's Carefree Living in Bull Shoals, where she received family-style care laced with love. In July when she celebrated her 99th birthday with more than 75 family and friends, she literally danced in her walker. Her high spirits were still shining brightly. She faded quickly after September and died in her sleep on November 10th.
Minnie Musgrove was a force for good. She was always positive and upbeat. She had a wry sense of humor and she loved to hear and tell a good story. She was a walking encyclopedia of kinfolk and relationships. She loved to tell younger generations about the ''good old days,'' whether it was how to make molasses or about riding to town in a horse-drawn wagon or trading a milk cow for a Model T Ford. She insisted on respect for others -- the Golden Rule was her watchword. She filled her house and all she met with love.

Minnie is survived by her children
Jack L. Musgrove (Kristina Haugland), Philadelphia, PA
Jeanne Ellen Musgrove Robertson (Douglas Robertson), Charlotte, NC

Grandchildren
Jack L. Musgrove, Jr. (Charlotte Haney), Houston, TX
Melissa Louise Musgrove Smith (James Edward Smith), Spring, TX
William Chase Freniere Musgrove, Austin, TX

Great-Grandchildren
Cameron James Smith & Corin James Smith, Spring, TX
Madison Lucille Musgrove & Virginia Marie Musgrove, Houston, TX

Predeceased by
Husband - Walter James ''Jack'' Musgrove, 1919-1989
Daughter-in-Law - Susan Marie Freniere Musgrove, 1949-2008


Visitation for Minnie will be Friday, November 17, 2017 from 6:00 8:00 pm at Roller-Burns Funeral Home in Yellville, Arkansas.

Funeral service will be 10:00 am Saturday, November 18, 2017 at First Baptist Church in Yellville, Arkansas with Bro. Rick Pyron officiating.

Interment will follow at Nanney Cemetery near Yellville.

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