William "Bill" Groves Dinning Jr.

William "Bill" Groves Dinning Jr. shook hands with Jesus Christ, his Lord and Savior, on Thursday, June 13, 2013, saying, "Well I declare! What took me so long?" He was born in Helena, Ark. on July 24, 1914 to W.G. Dinning Sr. and Madeline Tanner Dinning. In addition to his parents, Mr. Dinning was preceded in death by his beloved wife of 68 years, Vera Margaret Brown Dinning, who passed away in Dec., 2010; two sisters, Mary D. Burch and Dorothy D. Meyer. Bill went to Webb Preparatory School in Bell Buckle, Tenn. and received his undergraduate degree from Vanderbilt University where he was a member of Phi Delta Theta Fraternity. He earned his law degree from the University of Arkansas. He established a law practice with his father in Helena and quickly achieved a reliable reputation, eventually becoming City Attorney without soliciting a single vote. "If chosen, I will serve. I respect every person's right to make his own choice in voting, unsolicited and unbound." He was quoted in the Helena World as saying in March 1972, upon his election to the presidency of the Phillips County Bar Association. His specialty was tax law. He filed an Amicus Curiae Brief with the Supreme Court of the United States. Mr. Dinning's survivors include daughters, S. Sharum Dinning and Darcy L. Dinning, of Little Rock, Ark.; sons, W. Groves Dinning III, of Stratham, N.H., J. Tanner and Katie Dinning, of South Chelmsford, Mass.; granddaughter, Arleigh Cara Dinning, of Boston, Mass.; two nieces and two nephews. Mr. Bill will be remembered for his integrity, kindness, his love of the outdoors, his dry sense of humor, his woodworking skills, his affinity for red-heads, and as the textbook definition of "A Southern Gentleman." Although his loyalty remained to Helena throughout his lifetime, he enjoyed the camaraderie of his "new" friends in Greers Ferry. The family would like to express deep appreciation and acknowledgment of the respectful care of Marjorie May and the staff of Area 10 Hospice of the Arkansas Department of Health. Visitation will be 10 a.m. Monday, June 17, 2013 at the Holiday Hills United Methodist Church in Greers Ferry, Ark. Funeral services will be 11 a.m. Monday, June 17, 2013 at the Holiday Hills United Methodist Church in Greers Ferry, Ark. with interment at 2:45 p.m. in the Pinecrest Memorial Park, 7401 Highway 5, Alexander, Ark. 72002. Memorials may be made to St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital, 262 Danny Thomas Place, Memphis, Tenn. 38105. Please sign the online guestbook at www.heberspringsfuneralhome.com or call 501.887.9152.