James Charles Erwin

James Charles "Charlie" Erwin passed away on December 22, 2008 at the age of 88. He has been looking forward to heaven since he lost his dear wife of 65 years, Dean, on Easter Sunday of this year. He is survived by his daughter, Cindy Evans Barker of Searcy, his son, Jim Erwin and his wife Carolyn of Bryant, three grandsons, Lt. Colonel David Evans and his wife Andrea, of Edmond, Oklahoma, Brian Evans and his wife Jennifer of Atlanta, Georgia and Trey Erwin of Alexander, great-grandchildren Trace and Kennedy Evans of Edmond, Oklahoma and Kemper Evans of Atlanta, Georgia. He was a member of the First Baptist Church in Searcy, the Searcy Masonic Lodge and a lifetime member of the VFW. Charlie was proud of his service to his country. He served in the Army in World War II in the US, New Guinea and the Philippines, achieving the rank of a Staff Sergeant where he learned much about preparing food and feeding hundreds of people at a time, which in turn allowed him a lifelong career in the food business. He served as a sales representative for the Curtis Candy Company for many years where he often boasted of selling Sam Walton his first Baby Ruth candy bar for his Ben Franklin Store in Newport, Arkansas. Later he worked as a representative for Searcy Wholesale Grocery and as the manager of the Searcy Country Club where he enjoyed a successful career until his retirement. Charlie enjoyed selecting cuts of meat for the club, creating recipes (including fried pepper rings) and was one of the first to design a delicious salad bar in this area. His Sunday buffets were second to none. He and Dean enjoyed raising a garden for many years after their retirement and cooking for their family. He was very proud of all of three of his grandson, attending as many of their ballgames and events as possible, and enjoyed sharing his many stories with them repeatedly to the point that they could recite them from memory. The family would like to thank the staff at White County Memorial Hospital and the Searcy Healthcare Center for their compassion and care these past few weeks. Memorial gifts may be made in honor of Mr. Erwin to the Sunshine School, P.O. Box 831, Searcy, AR 72145.

James Charles Erwin

February 7, 1920 - December 22, 2008