Earl Smith
Earl is a lifetime resident of Mississippi County and a 1959 graduate of Blytheville High School. He married Martha Jo Howard in 1960 and spent three years with the Blytheville Police Department before beginning his life's work in funeral service. He is a 1966 graduate of John A. Gupton College in Nashville, Tennessee, where he served as President of his class. Earl is a licensed embalmer, funeral director, and certified eye enucleator. He is National Board certified and holds licenses in Arkansas and Missouri. He served many years on the Arkansas Board of Burial Associations and is a current Board Member for the Great River Medical Center in Blytheville and Osceola. Earl has given his life to funeral service and the families he has served.
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Martha Jo Smith
Born in Leachville, Martha Jo is the granddaughter of our founder, the late E. M. Howard, and the daughter of the late Buddy and Nola Howard. A lifelong Mississippi County resident, she is a 1960 graduate of Blytheville High School and the wife of Earl Smith since 1960. Funeral service is the only life she has ever known. Martha Jo holds an Arkansas Funeral Directors License an Arkansas Insurance License and is our most experienced pre-arrangement counselor. She and Earl have two sons, Brian who lives in Ft. Smith, and Greg who has been with the company since 1983. They also have three grandchildren, Andy, Lindsey, and Matt.
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Greg Smith
Greg is a fourth generation embalmer and funeral director. He has spent his entire life in funeral service. A 1982 graduate of Leachville High School he married Melinda Laffoon in 1984. Greg is a 1985 Honor Graduate of the Mid-America College of Mortuary Science in Jeffersonville, Indiana and is National Board certified holding embalmers and funeral directors licenses in Arkansas and Missouri. Greg also holds an Arkansas Insurance License. He is the longest tenured Deputy for the Mississippi County Coroner's Office having served in that capacity for 24 years. Greg and his wife, Melinda, have two children, Lindsey, a Junior at Arkansas State University majoring in biology and Matt, a Senior at Nettleton High School.
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Rev.Mark Wheeler
Mark is a native of Kennett, Missouri and has been with us since 1996. A 1982 graduate of Kennett High School, Mark has become vital to our company and community. He holds an Arkansas Funeral Directors License, and has served as Deputy Coroner for the Mississippi County Coroner's Office since 2002.
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Toby Murray
Toby was raised in Little Rock and has been with us since 2001. His previous funeral experience was with Bryan Funeral Home in Hoxie. He and his wife, Billie, are proud to call Buffalo Island their home. Toby's mother, Mildred Murray has also made Leachville her home.
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Karan Hill
Karan is the newest member of our staff. She has been with us since 2007 and immediately became part of the Howard family. She has been a Manila resident for most of her life and is married to Manila Police Chief, Jackie Hill. Together they have been very active in Manila sporting programs and civic events. They have one son Justin, and one granddaughter, Aubrey.
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Ronnie Horner
Ronnie has been associated with Howard Funeral Service for most of his life. His parents, the late, Johnny and Ruby Horner were both longtime employees of Howard Funeral Home. Ronnie has been with us in some capacity since the early 1970's. He was raised in the Little River Community near Manila where his parents operated a general store. He is a lifelong Manila area resident and has one son, Ronnie, Jr. and a daughter, Rhonda.
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Paul Dugger
Paul is a licensed insurance agent and pre-arrangement counselor. In a world of high pressure sales tactics Paul brings honesty and integrity to his profession. Originally from Newport, Paul and his wife, Trish, have lived in Jonesboro for many years. Over the years we have had many good agents on our staff, but Paul is without a doubt the best we've ever had. He can design a pre-arrangement plan for any budget and we never have to worry if he treats our families right. We consider ourselves very fortunate to have had Paul as part of our family since 1999.
