Mary Allison Tipton McCollum

Mary Allison Tipton "Tippe" McCollum, 84, of Forrest City, Ark., passed away on Thursday, April 9, 2015. She was born on May 24, 1930, in Forrest City, Ark., to John Henry Tipton Jr., and Elizabeth Sweet Tipton, and was raised by her maternal grandparents Augustus Garland Sweet and Mary Lancaster Sweet. She is preceded in death by her husband, Frederick Newton McCollum, Jr., and is survived by her five children: Allison Crawley (Gene) of Forrest City, Bonner "Cissie" McCollum, of Little Rock, Libby Thalheimer,(Lee), of Little Rock, Lisa Wray (Bige), of Searcy, and Rick McCollum (Maureen) of Forrest City. She is also survived by her 11 grandchildren, Tad Crawley, Meg Dilday, (Anthony), Elizabeth Puckett (John), Marc Crawley; Evans, Mary Tipton, and Stuart Thalheimer; Julie and Kyle Wray (Audra); Derick and Cara McCollum; and 11 great-grandchildren: Taylor, Andrew, and Alexa Crawley; Nicholas and Noah Dilday; Anna Tipton, Jack, and Liza Puckett; Krews and Kole Wray; and Emma Wiley Thalheimer. Tippe was a beloved member of her family, her church and her community. In 1981, she was voted Arkansas's "Mother of the Year" for her dedication to her family. She was an active member of The First United Methodist Church, the Garden Gate Garden Club, P.E.O., and Lunch Bunch. She had served on the board of the East Arkansas Community College Foundation, the St. Francis County Community Foundation, many committees at the First United Methodist Church, was a charter member of the Junior Auxiliary and the St Francis County Master Gardeners. She also was a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution, The Bridge Club, and Silver Sneakers Tippe was a lover of life and what it brought to her, the people, the arts and music, the beauty of her hometown, she held onto tightly. She will be missed by all who knew her. The family requests that all memorials be sent to the First United Methodist Church, P.O. Box 66, Forrest City, Ark. 72336, the East Arkansas Community College Foundation, or the St. Francis County Community Foundation. Funeral services were held Sunday, April 12, 2015 at the First United Methodist Church in Forrest City. Burial followed at Forrest Park Cemetery. Visit online registry at stevensfuneralhome.net. Under the direction of Stevens Funeral Home.