Obituaries

Rodney Worthington

Photo of Rodney Worthington
Rodney Worthington, 86, of Little Rock, passed away on Friday, August 19, 2011. He was born on June 10, 1925 in Harrison, Arkansas. He was the son of Rex and Lillian Worthington, and was happily married to Bette Murphy Worthington for 63 years. He attended First Christian Church in Little Rock. He joined the Navy on his 18th birthday in 1943. While in the Navy, he was the youngest member of the Drum and Bugle Corp and also a radioman on the USS Epping-Forrest which participated in 13 invasions, and was discharged in July 1946. After the war he married Bette and, in 1949, they had their first daughter. In 1950 he was reactivated to duty for the Korean War where he served on Guam. After his discharge, his second daughter was born in 1953. He worked for the Arkansas Democrat as a photographer/reporter, as news editor for KARK-TV, and Pinkey's Photo Service until his retirement. After retirement, he worked at the State Capitol and was known as the "Arkansas' Official Santa". After his second retirement, he volunteered at St. Vincent's Infirmary where he was the official greeter. He is survived by two daughters, Janie Jones of Sardis and Sally Merck of Plano, Texas; five grandchildren; six great-grandchildren; and four great-great-grandchildren. The family will receive friends from 4 p.m. until 6 p.m., Sunday, August 21, 2011 at Roller-Chenal Funeral Home, (501) 224-8300. A celebration of Rodney's life will be held at 10 a.m., Monday, at Roller-Chenal Funeral Home, followed by burial at Forest Hills Memorial Park. Online guestbook: www.rollerfuneralhomes.com/chenal.

Published August 20, 2011

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