Willene Harding

Willene Harding, born October 7, 1933, passed away peacefully at her home in Marion, Arkansas on February 24, 2026, at the age of 92.

Willene was raised poor on a farm but wealthy in what counted most, family. She was one of 11 children. She would have been the first to tell you that life was hard and those life lessons learned made her the woman she was until her last breath. She loved her children above all, fiercely independent, (and taught her daughters to be the same) hard working until she retired at age 75 as a waitress, factory worker, and CNA, sometimes working two jobs to make certain her children had what they needed. She was an excellent seamstress. If you needed britches patched, clothes altered, or curtains made she was the one to go to. She loved making quilt tops, doing cross stitch, working puzzle books, gardening, flowers, canning and cooking. Her recipes have been passed down through generations.

Willene was preceded in death by her parents, Imon and Joy Cummings, siblings, Wilma Dean Gwatney, Dorothy Reed, Larry and Delton Cummings, husbands, first Donald A. Dougan, Sr. and second, Oliver Lewis Harding and her daughter, Lela Marie Jackson. She is survived by her daughters, Mary Ann Cagle (Jerry) and Donna Grace Aguirre (Albert), sons, Donald A Dougan, Jr. and Ronald Ray Dougan, siblings, Willard, Ivan, Millard, Arlis and Billy Lynn Cummings, and Becky Jane Swanson, and a host of grandchildren, great-grandchildren and great-great grandchildren, nieces, nephews, cousins and friends.

The family would like to thank Legacy Hospice for their tender care shown to our mom in her final days.

Lastly and with love in our hearts, if you want to know more about our mom, read the book of Proverbs, chapter 31, it will tell you all you need to know.

Visitation will be held on Saturday, February 28, 2026, from 1 to 2 PM at Kernodle Funeral Home. Funeral services will follow at 2 PM with burial in Smith Chapel Cemetery.