Ethelyn "Lyn" Broyles Hatfield

Ethelyn "Lyn" Broyles Hatfield, 89, died on Dec. 14, 2010, in Imperial Beach, Calif. She was born in Alma, Ark. on Oct. 26, 1921, the fifth and youngest child of E. Sylvester and Mary "Nettie" Broyles. After graduating from Alma High School, she attended the University of Arkansas where she met and married E. Everett Hatfield of Huntsville, Ark. on Aug. 1, 1942. Following World War II and her husband's discharge from the U.S. Army Air Corps, they moved to Champaign, Ill. where she finished her bachelor's degree and earned a master's in education at the University of Illinois. She completed a successful 24-year teaching career in the public schools while raising three children with her husband, a Professor of Animal Science at the University of Illinois. After she and her husband retired from their respective teaching positions, they returned to Arkansas and enjoyed the companionship of friends and relatives. They were active in the First Methodist Church of Springdale and Goddard Methodist Church of Fort Smith. She lived her final year near her son, Douglas, in California. She was preceded in death by her husband of 64 years who died in Fort Smith in 2007. Her four siblings also preceded her in death: Remus B. Broyles, Truman I. Broyles, Elsie Broyles Young, and Nolan S. Broyles. She is survived by her three children and their spouses: Stephen E. Hatfield and Susan T. Hatfield of Denver, Colo., Douglas P. Hatfield and Gloria L. Hatfield of San Diego, Calif., and Mary Hatfield Lowe and Robert Lowe of Fort Smith, Ark. She also leaves six grandchildren; seven great-grandchildren and several nieces and nephews. She was a wonderfully loving and loved woman who will be forever missed. A memorial service and celebration of her life was held on Dec. 23 in California; her burial will be at the Fort Smith National Cemetery. Obit submitted by Ocker Funeral Home of Van Buren, Ark.