Arkie Irene Vallina

On July 29,1935, Arkie Irene Vallina was born at home in Honey Holler, Velvet Ridge, AR, to Eugene and Bonnie (Mason) McDonald, the fifth of ten children. As a toddler, the family moved to what is now known as Watson Road, remaining within the Velvet Ridge Community. Arkie and the McDonald siblings attended a one-room schoolhouse until entering the 9th grade at Bald Knob High School where she graduated in 1952, the year a tornado destroyed the school and much of Bald Knob and Judsonia communities. Throughout her childhood, and as an adult, Arkie was a hard worker. She excelled at picking cotton and strawberries, daily exceeding the amount picked by her older and physically larger siblings by all accounts. She also claimed to have been the designated child to go down the hill to the spring and return up the steep grade with full buckets of water for family of 12 usage. By her recollection she retrieved nearly all water, including that used for bathing. She claimed that following all her hard work, she was rewarded by being the last of 12 to bath in the recycled, reused and now cold water. Following graduation, Arkie, her father and sister went to Kokomo, IN, seeking work. Arkie worked at the Kroger Meat Department as well as at the snack bar/café of the Kokomo YMCA where she met and later married her husband, Angel Vallina. They became parents to three surviving daughters, Angela Zomant (Philip) Van Alsdorf, Bald Knob, AR; Alicia (Brian) Cunningham, Kokomo, IN; and Anna (Terry) Gontko, Cooper City, FL. She is also survived by grandchildren, Gary Lynn (Alena Mudd) Zomant, Kristen Zomant, Michael Gontko, Michelle Gontko and Matthew Cunningham. Surviving sisters include, Maxine Thompson, Maine; Bertie Ruth Treat, Searcy, AR; and Rachael (Hayden) Phillips, Franklin, AR; as well as several nieces and nephews whom she loved dearly. After 15 years of marriage and four children, Arkie’s life changed significantly when both her husband and father very unexpectantly died within a 30 day period of time. As a single parent, she found work at General Motors, Delco Division, in Kokomo and later retired in 1989. Following the birth of her grandson, Matthew, Arkie became his full-time babysitter, care giver and mentor while his mother worked. Arkie relished her role! Matthew received her full attention and love. She shared her love of games with Matthew at an early age, teaching him his alphabet while playing Scrabble with him by age 2, with the board set up on his high chair tray. When Matt was age 12, he decided he did not need his grandma as a babysitter any longer. He became embarrassed when, in her protective nature, she continued to stand at the door to send him off on the bus in the morning and waiting for him in the afternoon. Arkie LOVED to travel. For someone born prior to the advent of commercial air travel, she did manage to visit areas outside the United States – Spain, Portugal, Northern Africa, Mexico, Costa Rica, Venezuela, Jamaica, Tangiers and various other Caribbean countries. She also had adventures white water rafting in Central America and hot air ballooning with her friends at Harding Place. Her favorite travels, however, were done by car with her traveling companion and sister, Ruth Treat. She loved purposeful or meandering drives where she could view Gods beautiful creations. Always thrifty, Arkie absolutely loved visiting thrift stores and garage sales as long as she was able to ride in the car and was a collector of many things. In 2005, Arkie became a resident at Harding place after living nearly 50 years in Kokomo, IN. She was attracted to the safety and Christian atmosphere provided by Harding Place and especially enjoyed her family of card and game players there. She had a schedule of weekly games and never wanted to miss her game days or friends. Although Arkie had difficulty operating a TV remote or sometimes even a microwave, she was always able to pick up the rules and strategies of new card or board games. She did have difficulty finding Scrabble (probably her favorite board game) opponents as no one wanted to always lose. Known for her demonstrated love of God, recollection of chapter and verse of seemingly all scripture, she placed church member with the Church of Christ congregation at Pine View. She was blessed with many brothers and sisters in Christ from the Pine View congregation who continued to visit and worship with her throughout her years in Arkansas. She truly loved the individuals there and God and recognized the faithfulness of the congregation in visiting the sick and widows. Their care and concern for Arkie is so greatly appreciated by her family. Regardless of her love for God, she was often known to fall asleep during sermons and occasionally would snore before Ruth Treat would elbow her to wake her up. As it became evident that Arkie’s end of life on this earth was eminent, she was surrounded by loved ones who sang psalms and hymns to her that she loved, with prayer and scripture reading. She passed peacefully on November 9, 2016 at 1:10 am. She is preceded in death by her husband; son Andrew Vallina; parents; brothers John Dee, Harold, Paul, Carl and Lester McDonald; as well as a sister, Pauline McDonald. Members of Pine View Church of Christ (Pangburn/Clay community) will provide a luncheon in celebration of Arkie’s life at noon on Saturday, November 12 at the Fellowship Room. Funeral services will follow at 2pm with burial taking place at Velvet Ridge Cemetery. Visitation will be Friday evening, November 11 from 6-8pm at Powell Funeral Home on Beebe-Capps, Searcy, AR.

Arkie Irene Vallina

July 29, 1935 - November 9, 2016