Alyce Rowe Edwards Mills

Alyce Rowe Edwards Mills, of Van Buren, AR, was born March 19, 1927 in Wilson, Arkansas and after a prolonged battle with Alzheimer’s, she passed away at the age of 83, on Monday, September 27, 2010. Alyce was baptized and raised in the Baptist church, and she worked in her mother’s grocery store during her school years. One of her customers (her future mother-in-law) asked if she would write to her son in WWII. They exchanged pictures and Ed asked Alyce to marry him before he came home. They were happily married on April 19, 1945. After her marriage to Ed, Alyce began attending the Methodist Church and was always very active in her church, teaching and taking leadership roles with children’s church, Methodist women’s groups, and playing the piano for many of the churches she attended. She was a leader in the Walk to Emmaus. Alyce was a member of Waples Methodist in Denison, TX before moving to Van Buren, AR and joining City Heights Methodist Church in 2006.

Alyce worked full time as a bookkeeper and raised four children. She also ran Pleasure Bay Resort on Lake Texoma with Ed and her children. She was an independent woman and was committed to making the world around her a better place. She was recognized by many organizations for her service. She was a past president of the Sherman, Texas Crisis Center for Women, Business and Professional Women, and the Iris Society. She taught and played bridge, and she hosted a women’s investment group in her home. She was always smiling, very personable and will be greatly missed.

Elwin Breeding “Ed” Edwards, her husband, preceded her death in 1974, she is also preceded in death by her parents, Noah and Neva Rowe; her sisters, Helen Rowe Hill and Jean Rowe McCulley. Alyce is survived by her daughter, Sandee Farley and her husband, Mark; her sons, Frank Edwards and his wife, Sharon, Ed Edwards, Jr, and Steve Edwards and his wife, Huong; 10 grandchildren, James Brown, Shawn Brown, Leslie Whitehead, Aaron Farley, Brandi, Christi, Chelsie, Taylor, Cody Edwards, and Sean Edwards; 9 great grandchildren and 2 great-great grandchildren. Alyce is also survived by her sister-in-law, Frankie Edwards Johns of Kearney Nebraska.

Funeral service will be 10:00 A.M. Thursday, September 30, 2010 at City Heights Methodist Church in Van Buren under the direction of Edwards Van-Alma Funeral Home in Van Buren. The family will visit with friends from 6:00 P.M. to 8:00 P.M. Wednesday, September 29, 2010, at Edwards Van-Alma Funeral Home, 4100 Alma Hwy, Van Buren, AR. Burial will be at the family cemetery, Summer Shade Cemetery, in Summer Shade, Kentucky with her husband, Elwin Breeding “Ed” Edwards.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Fountain of Youth Adult Daycare, 2409 S 56th St # 121, Fort Smith, AR 72903, City Heights Methodist Church, 1002 Fayetteville Rd, Van Buren, AR 72956, or to Peachtree Hospice, 4300 Rogers Ave, Suite 33, Fort Smith, AR 72903.