Mittie Atkins Sutherlin

Mittie Atkins Sutherlin, 92, died Aug. 9, 2016. Born in Urbana, Ark., on Oct. 12, 1923, to Lillian and Henry Atkins, she was the youngest of six children. After graduating high school as valedictorian, she became a beautician. On Feb. 4, 1947, Mittie married the charming and eternally restless, Ennis Sutherlin, a World War II veteran. Eventually, the couple settled in El Dorado and, with no previous business experience and a couple hundred borrowed dollars, they opened the Razorback Market. They worked 13-hour days, Mittie often checking out groceries with a toddler slung on her hip like a sack of flour while their two other kids built doll houses in the aisles with cans of Vienna sausages and Beanie Weenies. For 38 years the little mom-and-pop store afforded annual family vacations, college educations for their children, and a home in the country. Mittie was devoted to her family. She maintained a stable, dependable presence in a long life filled with challenges. She was a proud Democrat, a Baptist and a diehard Razorback fan. Preceding her in death were her parents, her husband of 64 years and her five siblings. She is survived by her children: Diann (Craig Smith), Little Rock; Donna, Atlanta; and Mark, El Dorado; her grandchildren: Quentin Smith (Little Rock), Lindsey Smith (Durham, N.C.), Blair Smith (Prague, Czech Republic), Morgan Pelligrino (Atlanta), Jessica Duffy (Orlando), Matthew Sutherlin (Hot Springs) and Brooke Martin (Nacogdoches, Texas) and one great grandchild, Aiden Sutherlin. Visitation will be held Monday, Aug. 15, from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. at Young's Funeral Home, followed by a graveside service at Arlington Cemetery. Memorials may be made to National Alliance on Mental Illness, 1012 Autumn Rd #1, Little Rock, Ark. 72211 (www.namiarkansas.org).