Mike Southern

Services are 11 a.m. Saturday, July 22, at Sacred Heart of Mary Catholic Church, 1301 Frank St. in Barling, with burial at a later date. Visitation is 5-7 p.m. Friday, July 21, at Edwards Funeral Home, 201 N. 12th St. in Fort Smith, with a Rosary at 7 PM.

A resident of Lavaca, Mike was born in Warren, Ark., on November 27, 1955 to Anna Sue and Virgil Southern. He grew up in Pine Bluff, finishing school in White Hall. Mike received his bachelor’s degree in speech, communication and theater from Ouachita Baptist University, where he was a member of Sigma Alpha Sigma social club.

He married the former Rebecca Hanlon Ingram at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Pine Bluff on Jan. 17, 1981.

Mike was a member of Sacred Heart of Mary Catholic Church, where he taught religious education and served as Parish Council president. He was a member of the Holy Name Society at Christ the King Catholic Church in Fort Smith. Mike was among the lead singers in the River Valley Life Teen Band of St. Boniface and Immaculate Conception Catholic churches, both in Fort Smith.

He was a coach for the Western Arkansas Soccer Association and performed with the Fort Smith Little Theater, where one of his memorable roles was the minister in “Smoke on the Mountain.”

Mike founded The Southern Group, serving customers for many years as an insurance adjuster and salesman.

He was preceded in death by his father, Virgil Southern, and his maternal grandparents, Maude and Ervin Hall.

In addition to his wife, his survivors include his sons Joel Michael (Shelly) Southern and John Reid Southern, both of Fort Smith; his mother, Anna Sue Southern of Charleston; grandchildren Lilly Bottoms and Giovanni Southern, both of Fort Smith, and Harmony Brooke of South Arkansas; sister-in-law Ruth Ingram Cummins (Kelly Reid) of Clinton, Miss; brothers-in-law Charlie Ingram (LouAnn) of Mobile and Dennis Ingram (Michelle) of Tulsa; father-in-law Hanlon Ingram of Tulsa; nieces Leigh Cummins (Eric) of Portland, Ore., Meg Cummins (Julian) of Nashville, Tenn., Aubrey Ingram of St. Petersburg, Fla., Virginia Stricklen (Kyle) of Jenks, Okla., and Elizabeth Schneider (Justin) of Tulsa; nephew Sky Ingram of Mobile; Virginia and Elizabeth’s mom, Mary Lee Weaver of Tulsa; and a number of great-nieces and great-nephews.

Mike also leaves behind Jasmine and Marley, the family’s German Shorthaired Pointers.

The family requests memorials be made to Kitties and Kanines rescue and veterinary clinic, 4300 Phoenix Ave., Fort Smith, Ark., 72903.

Online condolences may be sent to: www.edwardsfuneralhome.com