Thelma Norene Carr

Thelma Norene Carr, 95, of Rogers, Ark., formerly of Bella Vista, died Friday, Oct. 26, 2012, at Innisfree Skilled Nursing in Rogers, Ark. She was born on April 20, 1917, in Caney, Kan., the only child of Owen E. and Margaret J. Hicks Douglas. She grew up in Topeka, Kan., attended Central High School in St. Joseph, Mo., and Strickler's Business College in Topeka and Kansas State College in Manhattan, Kan. She met Emil Carr when they both came to work at the Veterans Administration Center in Leavenworth, Kan., in 1938, and they were married on March 26, 1943. She worked as a secretary and bookkeeper there and at business places in Leavenworth and Kansas City until his discharge from Army service in 1946. Upon his discharge from the Medical Administrative Corps following World War II, he was employed as chief of the supply division at the Veterans Administration Center and they lived on the hospital grounds for 25 years until he retired and they moved to Bella Vista in June 1972. She was always interested in reading and was a member of two book clubs in Leavenworth, where she developed a talent for giving book reviews, which she continued after moving to Bella Vista. She became a member of P.E.O. in 1966 and organized the first chapter of the sisterhood in Bella Vista in 1974. She was a charter member of the Bella Vista Community Church and served on various boards and committees form time to time. She was preceded in death by her parents and her husband. She had no children but many "adopted" nieces and nephews. She is survived by cousins, Sylvia Menefee of Coffeyville, Kan., Eugene Murray of Tucson, Ariz., and Velma Wiersma of Independence, Kan. A graveside committal service will be at 11 a.m. on Friday, Nov. 2, 2012, at the Bella Vista Cemetery, with Pastor Jeff Reed officiating. Arrangements are by the Bella Vista Funeral Home & Crematory, 2258 Forest Hills Blvd., Bella Vista, Ark. Online condolences may be made at www.funeralmation.com.