Tonya McKiever

1947 - 2020

Tonya McKiever

Las Vegas, NV - Tonya McKiever (Farnsworth) passed away peacefully at her home in Las Vegas, Nevada, on May 29th, 2020, after a hard fought battle with lung cancer.

Tonya was born to Billy Fowler Farnsworth and Geraldine Farnsworth (Beasley) in Abilene, Texas, July 9th, 1947, and spent a delightful, early childhood surrounded by family including her younger brother, Greg, her grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins in Anson, Texas. In 1965 she graduated from Richardson High School, in Richardson, Texas. Despite battling polio at age ten and meningitis/encephalitis at age twenty, her positive outlook on life was never dulled.

She married Kevin Thomas McKiever in 1970 and gave birth to their only child, Colli, the same year. She received her Bachelor of Science in Education from the University of Arkansas in 1987. She lived in many different places before settling down in Northwest Arkansas where she lived for close to forty years. She was such a natural communicator that she had careers in education, before finding her calling as a newspaper reporter, a job she enjoyed for over a decade. Tonya was a local celebrity in Benton County, Arkansas, as a reporter for the Benton County Daily Record, especially after her column, "Meanwhile With McKiever" won multiple awards, including the Reader's Choice Award. A book with the same title was published in 2012 containing a small collection of the columns.

Tonya's kind, genuine, and happy demeanor made her the perfect reporter because people loved being in her presence. She had a gift with both people and writing, as those she interviewed wanted to share their story due to Tonya's ability to place everyone around her at ease. Her articles revealed her nature: a wonderful sense of humor, that she cared greatly about others, and that she deeply loved her family. She was the epitome of southern hospitality and the cliche "never met a stranger" definitely applied. Tonya never left her house without making a new friend.

In addition to writing, she loved tending to her garden and had a God-given green thumb. She adored nothing more than cuddling with her sweet, little dog, Gracie. She enjoyed game nights, arts and crafts, and cooking her favorite dishes for friends and family. A gifted storyteller, she would tell childhood stories that would bring tears to your eyes from laughter, never shying away from laughing at herself, which made her that much more of a delight to be around. Tonya was a "hoot" as she would say.

Even though she was an award winning writer, a mother, a grandmother, a beloved member of the community, she never took herself too seriously. Once Tonya retired from the newspaper she moved to Las Vegas in 2017 to be closer to her daughter and granddaughter, Ashlin.

Tonya was predeceased by her parents. She is survived by her daughter, Colli Christine McKiever (Patrick Amico) of Las Vegas, Nevada; her granddaughter, Ashlin McKiever Gross (Dan Nelson) of Las Vegas, Nevada; brother, Gregory Lee Farnsworth (David Pucek-Farnsworth) of Santa Fe, New Mexico; one aunt, Eva Farnsworth Sage, of Dallas, Texas; numerous cousins, many friends, and her dog, Gracie.

She will be laid to rest at Mount Hope Cemetery in Anson, Texas.

Arrangements for a private burial are through Adams-Graham Funeral Home in Anson. In lieu of flowers, donations to honor Tonya's life can be made to either Best Friends Animal Society (bestfriends.org), or Cancer Research Institute (cancerresearch.org).