Helen Maxine McGee

Helen Maxine McGee, 96, of Van Buren, passed away Monday, March 27, 2023. She was born April 26, 1926, in Rayville, LA to the late Claude and Allie (Wilson) Graham, where she was raised on a pecan orchard. She was a homemaker while her husband was a career Marine, which meant she made homes again and again. She took daily notes on the weather for decades, and she journaled her private joys as well as when she mowed the lawn.

At 17, she eloped; in her 20s, she learned how to make wedding cakes. Her daughter Helen knew this meant Maxine would be planning her wedding, and she was right. The last wedding cake Maxine made was for her granddaughter, Angela Hayes. Angela wanted a natural wedding and asked for a cake that looked like a basket. Privately, Maxine worried it would be plain, but her skills combined with Angela's vision blended beautifully.

Except Hawaii, she went to every state; this eventually became completionism. For Michigan, this meant we drove 20 minutes past the state line to a fruit stand, bought too many cherries, and ate them on our way to her Indiana cousins.

In her last years, dementia stole most of her. Before we had to take her car, she found herself at her husband’s grave. “I don’t know why,” she said, “but I couldn’t stop crying.” Even when she couldn’t place my face, when I told her I loved her, she replied “I love you, too, baby” with the same warmth as spring afternoons.

Soon, pink evening primroses will bloom again on the side of Arkansas roads. They’re her birthday flower. When you see them bouncing in spring breezes, know that love lasts longer than memory.

In addition to her parents, Maxine was preceded in death by her husband, David O. McGee; a sister, Betty Nance; two brothers, Donald Graham and Joseph Graham; a son, David R. McGee; and a grandson, Dustin Medley.

She is survived by a sister, Lucille Stephens of Rayville; a son, Don McGee of Seattle; a daughter, Helen Medley and husband, Ron Medley of Fort Smith; three grandchildren, Brian Medley of Charlotte, NC, Angela Hayes and husband Jason Hayes of Fayetteville, and Pam Medley of Fort Smith; and a great-granddaughter, Finley Hayes.

Funeral service will be 12:30 p.m. Monday, April 3, 2023 at Edwards Van-Alma Funeral Home Chapel with interment to follow at the Fort Smith National Cemetery, under the direction of Edwards Van-Alma Funeral Home of Van Buren, AR.

Pallbearers will be Ron Medley, Jason Hayes, Charles McCord, Danny Stevens, Mike Ebert, and David Atwell.

The family will visit with friends from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. Sunday, April 2, 2023, at Edwards Van-Alma Funeral Home, 4100 Alma Highway, Van Buren, AR.