Michael Watson Verser

On Thursday, September 19th, 2024, Michael Watson Verser of Caddo Gap, Arkansas, peacefully passed away while surrounded by his family. Mike, as he was fondly known since childhood, was 72 years old. 

Mike Verser was born on September 16th, 1952, in Little Rock, Arkansas. He was the first-born child of Jerry and Lydia Verser, who would raise Mike and his siblings, Carol, Laine, and Rodney, in Eudora, Arkansas. Mike was 17 months old when his parents moved from Lonoke County to Chicot County to farm rice and soybeans in cotton country. As a boy, Mike enjoyed working on the farm, hunting ducks and deer, playing sports for the Badgers, and running around the town and county with friends. After graduating from Eudora High School in 1970, Mike attended Henderson State University in Arkadelphia and the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville, where he earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Agriculture. He then returned to Eudora to join the family farming operation. In the summer of 1984, Mike married the love of his life, Brenda Lee Johnson of Eudora. The two married at the Eudora Baptist Church and honeymooned in Heber Springs. While Mike was 14 inches taller than Brenda, the two would remain one, and were happily married for 40 years. By 1985, Mike had turned his attention to medicine, and entered the Medical School at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences in Little Rock. After completing medical school, and a family practice residency in Jonesboro, the family settled in Caddo Gap, Arkansas; he would go on to practice in Glenwood and Mount Ida for 28 years, full heartedly serving hundreds of families. Mike and Brenda were blessed with three children, Michael (1991), Ellie (1994), and Madeline (1997). Their land on the Caddo River served as a safe haven for their children, friends, animals, and hobbies. Mike, always a farmer at heart, enjoyed working with heavy equipment, mowing over six acres, tending a summer garden, and caring for the forest, river, creek, and streams. When away from Caddo Gap, his passions included deer hunting in Lake Village, browsing local auctions, driving West, attending Razorback football games, and adding to his ever-growing collection of fossils, arrowheads, firearms, and vintage farm tools. In 2017, he acquired a new nickname, “Papa”. As a giant, jovial grandfather to Anna, Violet, and John Luke Verser, and Knox and Rosie Nguyen, Papa loved watching his grandchildren explore, learn, and play. After retiring from medicine in 2022, Mike enjoyed spending time with loved ones and friends, making world class hiking sticks, driving his new model Bronco, and catching smallmouth bass in the Caddo. 

Mike will be remembered for his caring personality, his booming, southern voice, his large yet gentle physical presence, his abundant generosity, and his easy-going nature. He was a great husband, father, grandfather, son, brother, and friend, whose legacy will continue. 

Michael Watson Verser was preceded in death by his father, Jerold Walker Verser. He is survived by his spouse, Brenda Johnson Verser, his three children, Michael Solomon Verser (Keelen), Elizabeth Verser Nguyen (Andy), and Madeline Verser Wallace (Brandon), his five grandchildren, Anna Bond Verser, Violet Kathryn Verser, John Luke Verser, Knox Aaron Nguyen, and Rosie Joy Nguyen, his mother, Lydia Purnell Verser, his siblings Carol Verser Denton (Chris), Laine Verser Fancher (Kent), and Rodney Purnell Verser (Linda, desd), and many nieces and nephews. 

All family and friends are cordially invited to celebrate and remember Mike on Friday, September 27th, at Smith Funeral Home in Little Rock, Arkansas. Visitation begins at 10:00 AM and service at 11 AM.  

In lieu of flowers, please consider learning about and supporting the future of Glioblastoma research and treatment, via the Glioblastoma Foundation.