Melinda W. Bigelow

Melinda W. Bigelow, 63, of Van Buren, passed into the arms of her Heavenly Father on May 4, 2015 in her home, surrounded by her loving family. She was born April 7, 1952, in El Dorado, Arkansas. Melinda was a newspaper journalist for the Smackover Journal, the Kilgore News Herald and the Press Argus Courier. She was a member of the Van Buren Women’s League and Community Bible Church.

Survivors include her husband of 44 years, Rodney; two daughters and their spouses, Brooke and Danny Loe of Fort Smith and Meagan and Brad Rothwell of Fordyce, Arkansas; three beloved granddaughters, Elizabeth Loe, Bradynn Rothwell and Tatum Grace Loe; her mother, June Woodson Wren of Van Buren; her brother and his wife, Steve and Crystal Woodson of Placquemine, Louisiana; a half-sister and her husband, Becky and Curtis Powell of Camden, Arkansas and five nieces.

The funeral will be at 12:30pm Wednesday, May 6, 2015 at Community Bible Church, with Reverend Kevin Thompson officiating. Burial will follow at U.S. National Cemetery in Fort Smith. The family will receive friends from 5:30pm to 7:30pm Tuesday, May 5, 2015 in Edwards Funeral Home Chapel. Services are under the direction of Edwards Funeral Home.

Pallbearers will be Davis Taylor, Danny Downing, Steve Crider, Bill Kincannon, Steve Ewing and Bud Albritton.

Melinda requests memorials be made to Community Bible Church Teen or Children’s Camp Scholarship’s, 9201 Dallas Avenue, Fort Smith, Arkansas, 72903 or GFWC Women’s Community League of Van Buren, 1011 Grandview Lane, Van Buren, Arkansas 72956 or Nazarene Well House, 47 13 ½ Street, Rochester, Minnesota 55901. To contribute to an online guestbook, visit www.edwardsfuneralhome.com.