Darrell Travis Shipman

So long Darrell! Darrell Travis Shipman, Sr. passed away quietly in his home in Hatfield on 27 November at the age of 69. He is survived by his wife, Esther "Bunny" Shipman; a couple of sons; and several grandchildren. Darrell formally retired about 30 years ago and moved back to Mena - where he was born. For work, he did a lot of things: Drove a truck long haul, did some gold mining, traded in Tchotchkies, and took up flying in his later years - shout out to the boys at the Mena RC Flying Club. Closest to his heart was no doubt his full career in the US Navy. He was always at home near the water and making it his vocation came naturally. Of course, he traveled the world and was recognized for his service in combat during the Vietnam conflict. Darrell will leave a lot of legacies behind - he claimed to have been hunted or attacked by panthers on perhaps a dozen occasions. He always had a story where someone was shooting at him or chasing him in a truck or with a shovel. He was a bit rakish when he was younger! Actually, that aspect of his youth traveled with him throughout his life. He was a practical joker and no one felt the brunt of it more than his sons. He once had them virtually convinced he had written songs for Walt Disney himself - and he had a voice that made it convincing. Darrell had a perverse glee about scaring the crap outta his kids and interestingly, this pastime has been assumed by his sons who now do the same thing to their kids. His best scares were always night ones and usually involved a bear, bigfoot, or the ubiquitous panther. Darrell had a love hate relationship with God over the years, but helped his boys have a strong foundation for themselves. He made peace with God a few decades ago and when he knew his time here was nearing the end, he was peaceful and expectant in getting to have some long conversations with The (Creator of) Man. Darrell and Bunny's youngest son, Scott, died while he was also serving in the Navy quite a few years ago - and Darrell's greatest anticipation was a reunion with him and some others who had predeceased him. Well, Darrell was all about returning to the sea and absolutely did not like funerals. So by the time you are reading or hearing this, Darrell is probably on his way to return to the ocean for his final voyage. He won't be coming home again to Mena, but his true homecoming happened on the 29th. And no doubt, God has already gotten an earful for the last several days about the time Darrell was treed by a black panther up in Potter when he was 12 and all he had was a pocket full of rocks and no ammo for his .22 rifle. Arrangements are under the direction of the Beasley-Wood Funeral Home.