Barbara Sue McDaniel

Barbara Sue Caton McDaniel, age 90, a lifelong resident of Charleston, Arkansas, passed away Friday, August 29, 2025, at Hospice Home Care in Little Rock after a prolonged battle with Alzheimer's disease. She was born on January 2, 1935, in Charleston to the late David L. "Pete" Caton and Agatha "Gay" (Rambo) Caton, to whom she was close and whom she cared for in their later years. She was raised in the community of Bloomer where lifelong friends were made; two of the pallbearers are sons of these childhood friends. Barbara was preceded in death by her husband of 67 years, James Wesley "Mac" McDaniel, and her parents.
Barbara was a 1952 graduate of Charleston High School, where she participated in the FHA and played junior and senior high basketball, scoring 29 points in one game as a southpaw. In 1954, she graduated from the Draughon School of Business in Fort Smith. She had beautiful handwriting, often with a touch of shorthand in her notes. Barbara was employed at Shamrock Oil in Dumas, Texas, and Speer Hardware Company in Fort Smith. In February 1957, she married Mac, "her man" and the love of her life. In 1960, they built a salmon pink house in the little community of Stone Hill on Highway 22. With the arrival of Kim and Kelly, she became a full-time homemaker and was a part-time bookkeeper for the family business, Charleston Hardware and Propane. From 1979 to1981, she was the Lunchroom Manager for the Charleston Public School System. After retiring in 1991, Barb and Mac enjoyed fishing, camping with numerous friends, and traveling, visiting all 50 states and making several overseas trips. She enjoyed her grandchildren and great-grandchildren. She loved the color pink, exercised as a daily walker, was a watcher of blue birds, and enjoyed reading, especially the Bible which she read from start to finish three times. Barbara was a big supporter of Charleston Public Schools and was an avid sports fan of the Charleston Tigers as well as the Arkansas Razorbacks. She was faithful member of Charleston Church of Christ and its Bible school program. Barbara loved her community and had many friends. Her "girls" want to share a few personal notes. She was the best "Mama" ever. She was our biggest supporter as well as that of Mac. Mama had many nicknames: Barb, Sue, Sophia (because she always had her purse close like the character in the Golden Girls), Barbie, Sugar, Sug, and Baby Duck. Until we started
school, she always had Kim and Kelly in tow. She was a fabulous cook, especially desserts -- Kelly's chocolate chip cookies, Kim's Italian cream cake, and Mac's homemade ice cream. She was known statewide for her peanut brittle. She spent countless hours canning and preserving fruits and vegetables and sewing her girls' dresses (with matching outfits for their Barbie dolls) and spent many afternoons taking us to swim. Mama loved playing cards, frying fish and hushpuppies, sewing, painting, crafting, going to her weekly hair appointment, and helping anyone she could. Mama was a prankster and competitive when selling raffle tickets or poppies for Veterans Day. She was our homeroom school mom and was involved in elementary school activities.
Funeral service will be held at 11:00 a.m., Thursday, September 4, at Brotherton Brothers Funeral Home Chapel in Charleston, with Rev. Bill VanMeter officiating. Burial will follow at Garden of Memories Cemetery in Charleston, under the direction of Brotherton Brothers Funeral Home. Beginning at 10:00 a.m., the family will be available to visit with family and friends prior to the funeral service.
She is survived by two daughters, Kimberly Ann Williams of Little Rock and Kelly Lea Bishop of Conway; two grandchildren, Blake Cook (Lindsey) of Rogers and Brandi Black (Lance) of Conway; five great- grandchildren, Eliza, Bree, Daly, Riggs, and Hux; two sisters-in-law, Letsy McDaniel and Wanda McDaniel; and numerous nieces, nephews, and first cousins.
Pallbearers are Jimmy Eiland, Eddie Harrison, Jr., Randy King, Paul Moore, Karl Potts, and Jeff Stubblefield.

Honorary pallbearers are brothers and sisters of the Charleston Church of Christ, Larry Caton, Charles Durham, Joe Stroub, Pete Strozier, James Stubblefield, and Leroy Womack.
The family would like to extend a special thank you to the staff of the Comfort Care Center in Little Rock.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Tribute to Life Foundation, 2200 South Bowman, Suite A, Little Rock, AR 72211, or a charity of your choice.

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