Juanita Mitchell

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Visitation Schedule
Visitation
First Presbyterian Church
220 N Arbor Dr.
Harrison, AR  72601
Wednesday, September 4, 2013
6 to 8 PM
Service Schedule
Memorial Service
First Presbyterian Church
220 N Arbor Dr
Harrison, AR  72601
Thursday, September 5, 2013
11 AM
Memorial Contributions
First Presbyterian Church Building Fund
220 Arbor Drive
Harrison, AR  72601


National Osteoporosis Foundation
National Osteoporosis Foundation
1232 22nd Street N.W.
Washington, DC  20037


Alzheimer's Association
Alzheimer's Association National Office
225 N. Michigan Ave. Fl. 17
Chicago, IL  60601
Juanita Mitchell

of Harrison, AR

March 6, 1922 - September 2, 2013

Juanita Mitchell, master quilter, expert cook and baker, devoted wife, mother, grandmother and great-grandmother, died Monday, September 2, at Hillcrest Home in Harrison. She was 91.

Born Lillian Juanita Sims on March 6, 1922, in Kingsland, Arkansas, to Thomas Hiram and Maude Mae Sims, she lived for several years in Little Rock before moving with her family to Ridgefield, Washington, where she graduated from Ridgefield High School. She later moved back to Little Rock where she graduated from Draughon's Business School before marrying William ''Bill'' Russell Weedman in 1947.

In 1951, Juanita and Bill, and their daughter Gwendolyn, who had been born the year before in Little Rock, settled in Harrison. A second child, Gregory Norman, was born in 1952.

She married Underwood on June 5th, 1960, after each had been widowed, having known each other from church, becoming the mother of his three children: Karen Ann, Michael Burt and Katherine Fon. Their sixth child, Thomas Underwood, was born in 1962.


She was a life time member of Beta Sigma Phi, The First Presbyterian Church, the Current Fiction Club, Happy Quilters, and was a past president of the Patchworkers Quilters' Guild.

She was preceded in death by her parents, three sisters, and her first husband, Bill.

In addition to Underwood, Juanita's survivors include:

Her daughter Gwen Weedman Hathcock, her son-in-law the Rev. Philip L. Hathcock, of Maumelle, Arkansas, and her granddaughter Larissa Vicari Polkowski and her husband Dr. Gregory Polkowski II, and great-grandchildren Elise Claire, William Frank and Anna Grier, of Franklin, Tennessee.

Her daughter Karen Mitchell Sumner, her son-in-law William H. Sumner Jr., of Abilene, Texas, and her grandson Wesley Earle;

Her son Gregory Norman Weedman and her daughter-in-law Pamela Meeks Weedman, of Hot Springs, Arkansas;

Her son Michael Burt Mitchell, her daughter-in-law Diane Fowler Mitchell, of Harrison, Arkansas, and her grandsons Michael Cody and Joshua Tyler;

Her daughter Katherine Mitchell West, her son-in-law Patrick West, of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and her grandsons Ryan Patrick and Grant Edward;

Her son Thomas Underwood Mitchell, of Northampton, Massachusetts, and her granddaughter Madeleine Elizabeth.

All the children will smile when they remember their Nana and her homemade fudge and chocolate chip cookies, her Sunday roast dinners with fried corn, the grandchildren's favorite, her handmade pillows, quilts and framed artworks, and her fondness for the daily word Jumble in the Arkansas Gazette and the Harrison Daily Times.

And Underwood will smile proudest of all when he recalls their 53 years together, the trials and triumphs of raising a large family, and all the memories that attend a long life well lived.

A memorial service was held at the First Presbyterian Church Thursday, September 5, 2013.

Visitation was Wednesday, September 4, 2013, at the church.

A private burial was held in Maplewood Cemetery under the direction of Roller-Christeson Funeral Home.



In lieu of flowers, the family is requesting that memorial contributions be made either to The First Presbyterian Church Building Fund, 220 Arbor Drive, Harrison, Arkansas, 72601; The National Osteoporosis Foundation, 1232 22nd Street N.W. Washington, D.C. 20037-1202, www.nof.org; or The Alzheimer's Association, National Office, 225 N. Michigan Ave., Fl. 17, Chicago, Illinois 60601, www.alz.org.


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4 Condolence(s)
Bunny Clark
Harrison, AR
Liked
Wednesday, September 25, 2013

Juanita will be miss by all. I remember her decorating her house at Christmas time with a snow village. I'm one of her many quilting friends.

Tony & Debbie White
Harrison, AR
Liked
Thursday, September 5, 2013

Our thoughts are with you Underwood. You were blessed to have her.

Herb Lair
Harrison, AR
Liked
Thursday, September 5, 2013

Sorry for your loss. You have been by her side at all times through her illness. The times that I was at Hillcrest visiting people I saw you reading to her and assisting her with all her needs. Memorial again brought out the compassion you have shown for her.

Kathy & Jim Dees
Harrison,
Liked
Tuesday, September 3, 2013

Kathy, thinking of you and your family during this time of sorrow. So sorry we won't be able to attend the services. You will be in our thoughts.