Fred Talmadge McCuistion

From his February 16, 1940, birth in Little Rock, Arkansas to the date of his death in Little Rock on July 18, 2022, and reunion with family preceding him into God’s heavenly care, the Earth was graced with the presence of Fred Talmadge McCuistion––writer, philosopher, and poet. There has never been, nor will there ever be, anyone quite like Fred. More than anything else Fred had a truly noble heart. To meet Fred, to know him and love him and be loved by him, was to be the beneficiary of a lifelong legacy of goodness, compassion, and generosity!

There were no boundaries to Fred’s love. No qualifications or quid pro quos. He loved entirely, faithfully, unabashedly. No distance was too long, no task too hard, no weight too heavy when it came to helping others. Seldom has anyone given so freely to his friends or devoted so much of himself to meeting their needs. And, fortunately for us all, his friendship extended to just about everyone whom he met!

Fred was multifaceted, a gifted storyteller in the much-fabled southern art of yarn-spinning, adept at telling a story combining intellectual gems with everyday life experiences or events. The simplicity of his lifestyle at the Hillcrest homestead and the modesty of his lifework as a master craftsman with vast knowledge of wood species belied the vast reaches and nuances of his panoramic mind. A writer, thinker, and a fascinating conversationalist, Fred read avidly and developed a fondness for many diverse subjects ranging from medieval literature to military science, Russian history to astrophysics, classical music to Lavon Helms and The Band and political theory. One friend of Fred’s who had served on Harvard’s faculty once commented that Fred was his yardstick for measuring the brilliance of peers and students alike. It was also commented that “it wasn’t just raw intelligence that set Fred apart; even more so, it was his innate ability to distill that intelligence into a rare and propitious wisdom. He had deep intuition about people and a sympathetic insight into the nature and challenges of their circumstances. Therefore, his advice was often sought by those dealing with onerous problems and why it had been said that Fred was both a standard and a sextant by which to gauge authenticity and navigate troubled times.”

For all who knew him, Fred was first and foremost the truest of friends.

The 17th century Jesuit philosopher Baltasar Gracián said that to find one true friend in a lifetime is a fortune and to keep him is a blessing. Those of us, and many we are, who were touched by Fred’s friendship are indeed fortunate and blest. Forgetting our failings and disregarding our faults, Fred always welcomed us with a smile. We will miss him greatly, but we are also consoled that death is no boundary as our lives continue to be graced by having loved a very special man.

One of Fred’s younger relatives described him as “a truth teller and a gentle man. Tall as a tree with the biggest blue eyes since God made the sky.” Describing his kindness and attention to the wellbeing of younger relatives, the fact that Fred “walked his own road” was noted along with enjoyment of his story telling regarding his journeys on life’s roads.

Friends, neighbors, business owners, and workers throughout Little Rock’s Hillcrest neighborhood knew Fred as a friend who cared for them all, sharing concern for their wellbeing, always, and generosity whenever needed. Outside of work, more often than not too busy enjoying the opportunities of life that interested him, Fred frequently ignored his own personal best interests and needs. Casual observers might have considered him as no more than an eccentric, missing the opportunity to know him as the great conversationalist in whatever chosen area of interest they might have engaged in with him.

Being “head strong, his own person, and protective of his pack” is another apt description of a man whose life invites more descriptives than most who have graced our Earth as did he.

Baptized at the age of 3 along with his infant sister Judy at First Methodist Church in downtown Little Rock, Fred attended Pulaski Heights Junior High and graduated from Little Rock Central High School in 1957. Following high school, Fred attended Hendrix College in Conway and the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville. He was a loyal Razorback fan, celebrating Hog victories and exhibiting enormous disappointment regarding their losses.

Being from a family of educators, his father a former Assistant Commissioner of Education in Arkansas and his mother a Little Rock elementary school teacher along with many schoolteacher aunts and uncles, Fred’s lifelong curiosity and search for knowledge came naturally. Likewise, his patriotic inclinations and support for the US Armed Forces with both his father and one brother serving as aviators in WW I and WW II and another brother serving in the US Army in WW II, Fred served honorably in the US Army from March 1962 through August 1964.

Early life’s work found Fred working as a surveyor prior to beginning a 29-year career with the Arkansas State Parks Department as an Exhibit Fabrication Specialist, designing and installing exhibits at State Parks throughout Arkansas. His career enabled the combining of his fascination with and enjoyment of history and nature with his considerable knowledge of and enjoyment of working with various wood species.

Fred’s various interests and loves included great love for and respect for family and family traditions, those of his own and others as well. He was blessed with a family that cared greatly for and supported each other through good times and struggles, now united in grieving his passing while celebrating the many great memories he has bequeathed to us.

He was preceded in death by his mother and father, Ed McCuistion and Ruth Bassett McCuistion, Sisters Elizabeth Ann Richardson, Mary Alice Acklin and Judith Clare Gulya along with brothers James Fred McCuistion, John Ed McCuistion and Robert W. McCuistion. He is survived by one son, Fred McCuistion (Christine) of Salinas, California, grandchildren Elizabeth Lucille McCuistion and David Charles McCuistion of Salinas, cousins John Cline Bassett of Little Rock, Larry Bassett of Springdale, and Susan Booker of Lexington, Kentucky along with numerous nieces, nephews, great-nieces and great nephews, cousins once removed and countless lifelong friends including Arthur Anderson of Iowa (considered by many as a family member). Also surviving is Fred’s dear Companion of over 34 years, Malinda Bell of Little Rock who provided support and care for Fred throughout illnesses in recent years as well as encouragement and joy in his life for all of those years preceding.

Burial Services will be held at Roselawn Cemetery in Little Rock at 10:00 AM on August 6, 2022 with arrangements by Griffin Leggett Healey & Roth Funeral Home of Little Rock.