E. C. Gilbreath

E. C. Gilbreath was born on March 12, 1934, to Charlie Jackson Gilbreath and Viola Carter Gilbreath in Winfield, Arkansas. He reached the rank of Eagle Scout with fifty merit badges and graduated from Mena High School in 1952. He attended the University of Arkansas and graduated with a B.S.B.A in Accounting in 1956. He also served as president of Beta Alpha Psi and was inducted into the honor society Omicron Delta Kappa. In college he met Barbara Henry, who was also studying Accounting, and upon graduation they were married on September 2, 1956.

After college, he passed the CPA exam, and for two years he worked for a national accounting firm in Houston, Texas, before returning to the University of Arkansas to enroll in law school. While in law school, he was associate editor of the law review and wrote two articles that were republished nationally. He received the E. L. Cullum Foundation award for being the first UA student to become both a certified public accountant and to be admitted to the bar.

While in college, he participated in ROTC and upon graduation was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the U. S. Army. In 1958-59, he served active duty in Karlsruhe, Germany, where he was a Field Artillery Officer. While in Germany, he and his wife traveled across Europe, sparking their love of travel.

During his fifty-nine-year career in law, he practiced in thirty-three states. He specialized in product liability lawsuits involving automobiles and firearms. Some of the cases that interested him the most were in Alaska, where he traveled twenty-three times.

He loved taking photographs, particularly documenting his travels. He and his wife travelled to all seven continents, and his photo collection includes Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe from a helicopter, the end of the Iditarod Dog Sled Race in Alaska, polar bears in Manitoba, Canada, and penguins in Antarctica.

He was an avid hunter and enjoyed big game hunting in several countries, including in Africa where he completed the African Big Five. He also loved playing tennis from the time he was in high school until he was eighty. He was a member of First Baptist Church and was formerly a long-standing member and deacon of Grand Avenue Baptist Church.

He was preceded in death by his parents, his brother Elloyd Ray Gilbreath, and his three sisters Alyene Gilbreath Hicks, Charlene Gilbreath Neese, and Alice Faye Gilbreath Coleman. He is survived by his wife, Barbara Henry Gilbreath; his three children, David Gilbreath, Daniel Gilbreath, and Sarah Gilbreath Ford; and his four grandchildren, Drake Gilbreath, Dylan Gilbreath, Maxwell Gilbreath, and Connor Ford.

The funeral service will be held on Thursday, September 1st, at 10 a.m., First Baptist Church, Ft. Smith. Visitation will be Wednesday, August 31st, 5-7 p.m. at Edwards Funeral Home.

Pallbearers will be Jason Akins, Jeff Beauchamp, Tom Bull, Ronnie Coleman, Charles Hicks, Ross Morreale, Danny Miller, and Jerry Pruitt.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions can be made to First Baptist Church of Ft. Smith Children’s Fund or Arkansas Baptist Children’s Homes and Family Ministries, 10 Remington Drive, Little Rock, AR 72204.

Online condolences may be sent to: www.edwardsfuneralhome.com