Mary Smith Bean

Mary Smith Bean, 86, died on Aug. 13, 2015 at home. She was born to Jasper Franklin Smith and Nancy Suzann Horine on a farm in the Ozark Mountains near Truth, Ark. on March 11, 1929. She was one of 10 children and almost the baby. She was smart and skipped a grade in school. She tried to ensure her chores were inside the house rather than outside and traded chores whenever necessary. When she graduated from Huntsville High School, she went to business school in Fayetteville, Ark. She met the love of her life, Jessie Carl Bean, a World War II veteran and a student at the University of Arkansas, in Fayetteville, at a bowling alley. They married on March 31, 1951 and moved to Pine Bluff, Ark. She worked at the Pine Bluff Arsenal, was a member of the International Paper Company pre-construction team and later worked at the International Paper Company as an executive secretary. She quit to be a stay-at-home mom when her second child was born. She was a member of Riverside Presbyterian Church and, later, First Presbyterian Church in Pine Bluff. In the early 1970's she was employed by the Pine Bluff Commercial as a linotype girl. During the early 1980's she decided she wanted to be a bookkeeper. She enrolled at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff to take bookkeeping courses. She took them all and, fortunately, her professors encouraged her to take the remaining courses to obtain a degree. She graduated with a degree in accounting in 1984 when she was 55 and passed the Certified Professional Accountant (CPA) examination on her first try. She worked at Mike Ray Accounting in Pine Bluff for many years. When she retired, she was bored and worked during tax season at other firms for several years. She moved back to Northwest Arkansas in 2003. She worked at Deborah S. West Accounting during tax season and was active at the First Presbyterian Church of Springdale, Ark. She finally retired when she was 79. She is survived by her daughter, Carolyn Bean Willis and her husband, Robert Willis; her son, Roger Bean; and two grandchildren: Robert Willis and Theodore Willis; her brother, Paul Smith; and her sister, Rubye Wilds. She was predeceased by her husband, Carl Bean, her parents, and her brothers and sisters: Opha Cain, Artie Mae Spradling, Edith Easterling, Alva Smith, Elizabeth Smith, Austin Smith and Grady Smith. The family would like to extend a special thanks to her caregivers: Brenda, Raegin, Joseline, Jennifer, Jessica and Wendy. The family would like thank the amazing Circle of Life family. A memorial service will be held at 2 p.m., Tuesday, August 18 at First Presbyterian Church in Springdale. Her committal service will be at 2 p.m., Thursday August 20 at Memorial Park Cemetery in Pine Bluff. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations to First Presbyterian Church, Springdale for the Christian United Pantry (CUP) are requested. Please visit her memorial and share fond memories at www.WestfieldChapel.com.