Hartsel Gerald Acord

Hartsel Gerald Acord, of Conway, Arkansas, passed away Saturday, May 11, 2013, at Select Specialty Hospital in Little Rock, Arkansas. He was born September 9, 1947, in Dermott, Arkansas, a son of the late Hartsel Acord, and his mother, Lydia Acord of Fort Smith, Arkansas. Mr. Acord was a Maintenance Inspector with the Federal Aviation Administration, and retired from the Little Rock Flight Standards Office, after a 23 year career with the FAA. He and his wife, Tera, lived in Anchorage, Alaska for 12 years, where he began his FAA career. Mr. Acord loved working with his hands. Prior to working for the FAA, Mr. Acord worked for Bell Helicopter in Ft. Worth, Texas, and later for ERA Helicopter in Lake Charles, Louisiana. Mr. Acord served in the United States Army, and was a veteran of the Vietnam War. He was awarded the National Defense Service Medal and the Good Conduct Medal. He also served with the Arkansas National Guard. An avid sportsman, Mr. Acord loved to fish, hunt and train his Labrador Retrievers. He also enjoyed gardening, traveling and reading – especially Shakespeare and history books. During his service time in the US Army, Mr. Acord was stationed in Germany where he embraced the German culture and learned to speak the language. After his military service, Gerald attended West Ark Community College, received a BS Degree from Arkansas Tech, and a MBA from UCA. He was a member of the church of Christ in Alma, Arkansas; and had attended Family Life Bible Church in Conway. Survivors are his wife of thirty years, Tera of Conway; his mother, Lydia Acord; step-children, Stephanie Baldwin and husband Peter of Aledo, Texas; Rex Moxley and wife D'Ann of Dallas, Texas; grandchildren, Harrison, Sarah and Anne Marie Baldwin of Aledo; Kate and Scott Moxley of Dallas; brothers, Jack Acord of Paducah, Kentucky; Neal Acord of Conroe, Texas; Jim Acord of Fort Smith, Arkansas; his sister, Pat Edison of Broken Arrow, Oklahoma; several nephews and nieces. Funeral will be 9 a.m. Thursday, May 16, 2013, in the chapel of Griffin Leggett Conway, with Neal Winstead officiating. Visitation will be from 8:30am until service time. Burial will follow at 2 p.m., at the Fayetteville National Cemetery. Please send the family your messages of love, comfort and support to www.griffinleggettconway.com. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Samaritan's Purse International Relief (samaritanspurse.org).