Waymond Hutton

WALNUT RIDGE - Waymond Lynn Hutton, 80, of Walnut Ridge, passed on to his Heavenly Father on Nov. 16, 2023. He was born on July 20, 1943, in Hoxie to the late Perry C. and Ruth (Johnson) Hutton.

Waymond dedicated his life to public service and was honored to serve as Sheriff for Lawrence County from 1991 until his retirement in 2004. His most memorable moment was the time he won first place for both speed and accuracy in a pistol shooting competition at the Arkansas Tactical Officer Survival School in Benton where he competed against officers from across the state. He said the other contestants were amazed that an older person like him, with a .357 revolver, could outshoot all those young officers with their high-tech automatic weapons. As proud as he was of his shooting abilities, he was most proud that all his armed confrontations as sheriff ended peacefully.

Waymond was preceded in death by his parents, Perry and Ruth Hutton; sisters, Alice Hutton, Ruth Martin and Mary Bookout; brothers, James Hutton and Jerry Hutton.

He is survived by his dedicated wife of 60 years, Jacqueline (Slatton) Hutton of the home; children, JeanAnn (Roy Paul) Davidson of Walnut Ridge, Toby (Max) Romero of Albuquerque, N.M., Lisa (Matt) Kelley of Wynne and Wayne (Karen) Hutton of Pocahontas; brothers, Perry Hutton and Levi (Louellen) Hutton; sisters, Doris Ripley, Sharon (Reggie) Freeman, Shirley (Robert) Tribble, Elizabeth (Keith) Nichols and Rachel Hutton; six grandchildren and 13 great-grandchildren. Waymond was blessed with girls in his descendants and enjoyed an especially close relationship with his oldest granddaughter, Jacqueline Holland, and his oldest great-granddaughter, Abbi Miller.

Honored to serve as pallbearers are Heath Davis, Landon Holland, T.J. Marlin, Tracy Moore, Jeff Phillips and Delbert Robbins. Honorary pallbearers are Adam Holland, Richard Johnson, Curtis Meeks, Cloyce Richey, Junior Waldrupe and Alan Wilfond.

Visitation will be held today, Nov. 18, from 5-7 p.m. Funeral services will be Sunday at 2 p.m. All services are under the direction of House-Gregg Funeral Home.