Aline Townsend Huckaby

Aline Townsend Huckaby, age 101, of Mena, Arkansas, passed away Saturday, March 22, 2014 in Mena. Aline was born on December 24, 1912, in Philadelphia, Mississippi, to William Earnest and Viola Warren Townsend. She was the third of six children. Her siblings were: Atlas Columbus, Claudine (Copher), John Claude, Arthur and Nadine (Nichols). She outlived all of them except Claudine. When she was about eight the family moved to Byers, Texas, where she lived until she married John William Huckaby, on August 4, 1932. Aline was nineteen and had just graduated from Byers High School. JW and Aline lived first with J's family in Tillman County, Oklahoma, then in their own house nearby. This house was destroyed by a tornado, which left her with a dread of these storms for the rest of her life. They then moved to a farm where they worked and were loved by the Powell family near Walters, Oklahoma. Then to Vernon, Texas, where their son Dwain was born, May 4, 1936. He died while serving in the US Marine Corps in 1961. The dustbowl drove them out in 1937 and they moved along with many others to California. Their son Eddie was born in Oakland, California, on August 6, 1940. The family moved to Mena, Arkansas, in 1942. While in California, Aline and JW became charter members of Golden Gate Primitive Baptist Church. Aline's church was a very important part of her life, as was her family. She was a "mother in Jerusalem" to many in her family and in her church and community. A year of illness in 1946 resulted in the need to go back where the money was and the family moved back to California in 1949, where JW and Aline lived until 1964, when they moved back to Mena. Aline felt it was not so important where you were as who you were. She loved music and loved to sing, but the illness had left her with a thin, reedy soprano voice. She found her voice in her poetry. She always said she had no problem remembering her poems because God gave them to her.She was always a learner. She insisted that JW wait until she graduated high school before they married. When the furniture needed upgrading, she wrote to get materials from the university extension to know how to re-upholster it herself. She took 60+ classes at Rich Mountain Community College and loved the trips sponsored by that program. She took a creative writing class and wrote down her poems so that she might more easily share them with others. She wrote a biography which her son means to prepare for publication which covers up through the first 30 years of her marriage. Aline treasured life and was a treasure to those who knew her. She will be missed by her surviving son, her grandchildren and great grandchildren, her many nieces and nephews as well as her family in Christ. Funeral services will be Saturday, March 29, 2014 at 10:00 a.m. at the Beasley-Wood Chapel with Elder Billy W. Huckaby, Jr. and Elder Michael Ivey officiating. Interment follows in Pinecrest Memorial Park under the direction of the Beasley-Wood Funeral Home Visitation will be Friday evening, March 28th from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. at the funeral home.