Beaurie Maxine Bowling passed away Saturday morning January 12, 2019. She was preceded in death by her son, Jackey Hefley, her husband Kenneth Hefley, her second husband Harold Bowling, her sister Joyce Frederick, and her sister Lillian Hefley.  She is survived by her brother Charles Brown, her sister Darris Kerfoot, her sister Berneice Brasel, her sister Margaret, her sons Kerry and Eugene Hefley, her 6 grandchildren, 8 great-grandchildren, and many nieces, nephews, and cousins.  Maxine was privileged to have been born into her mother Ruby's family, the Davis' and her father Forest's family the Brown's.  She also enjoyed the privilege of being a part of her husband Kenneth's family, the Hefley's, and her second husband Harold's family, the Bowling's.  She loved and enjoyed these families dearly and prayed by name daily for each member.  If you knew Maxine you could be sure you were in her prayer book so she could pray for you.  At first she prayed for you daily but her prayer book became so full she had to begin praying for each individual once every 3 days.

Maxine was born in Vendor, Arkansas at her Grandmother Anna Mae Davis' home. She grew up in Hasty.  She attended grade school in Hasty and Yardell and then high school in Western Grove.  She graduated in Mt. Judea just after her marriage to Kenneth Hefley.  She and Kenneth lived across the road from the school at Mt. Judea where Kenneth ran his garage.  Her close friend there in Mt. Judea was Linda Trailor, now Linda Criner.  It just so happened Linda had 3 daughters around the ages of Maxine's sons.  Imagine how that worked out.  Kenneth and Maxine also had a place on Highway 123 on the way up the mountain towards Lurton.  It was part of the land previously owned by Levi Kent at one time.  Not long after moving there across, from Burl and Edna Kent, the house burnt so the family moved back down to the house in town.  Kenneth and Maxine took their boys and went to Kansas City a few times to attempt to move there but Kenneth would get too home sick to stay.  Finally in 1964 Carl Smith, married to Wardena,  Maxine's first cousin, moved the family to Little Rock in the back of his cattle truck.  After high school Kenneth had gone to Little Rock to live with his brother Lowell and his wife Ruby along with their son Billy Frank and daughter Rita. With them in Little Rock he hoped not to be so home sick for Mt. Judea.  He attended college there in Little Rock but also worked in a garage there where he learned his profession.  One of the primary factors in moving to Little Rock was Kenneth and Maxine wanted their sons to get an excellent education.  They purchased a home near the University of Arkansas in Little Rock for that purpose.  Eugene, Jackey, and Kerry all attained a college education.  A couple of weeks after arriving in Little Rock, Maxine call the school Principal where Jackey and Kerry attended.  They had forgotten their lunches.  Jackey and Kerry were called to the Principal's office.  The principal told them to call their Mother.  They just stood there.  The principal said, "There is the phone, call your Mother."  Jackey and Kerry responded, "We don't know how.  We've never used a phone." Being from the Ozarks city life was different for the entire family.  Until this day, all the members of Maxine's family still refer to Mt. Judea as home.

After Kenneth's death Maxine spent time as a nurse in Kansas City to be near her siblings and their families before becoming the nurse at Bryan College in Dayton, Tennessee. On a visit back home Maxine got reacquainted with her brother Charles' boyhood friend Harold Bowling.  They married and lived there in Hasty.  The Brown's, Davis', and Hefley's loved to get together to play the card game or Pitch.  Kenneth was notorious for his pitch game.  Harold had that same love for the game of Pitch so he fit right in with the family.  Maxine enjoyed many weekends with her boys and their families, along with her sister Joyce and her sons, there at Harold's home playing Pitch.  It was after Harold's death she returned to her home in Little Rock where her primary role was mother and grandmother.

Maxine worked as a nurse at Baptist Hospital, in Little Rock, where she led the patients on the psychiatric floor in a weekly Bible study. She joined her son, Kerry, at Bryan College where she was the college nurse and surrogate mother to hundreds of young people.  She served several years as the camp nurse at Rock Haven Bible Camp.  Living near the college, the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, Maxine mothered a host of Jackey and Eugene's college friends such as Tom Horton and Richard Harder.  In her last years, Tom was there to help Kerry get her to and from her doctor's visits.

Maxine was a servant of Jesus Christ, a prayer warrior, a sister, a mother, a grandmother, a wonderful loving wife, a friend, a relative, and was relentless in her efforts to lead others to know Christ as their Savior. The word that would best describe Maxine is mother.  She had her own 3 sons.  At the age of 13, being the oldest sibling without a mother in their home, she mothered her brother and sisters maybe not by their choice but hers.  She helped her husband Harold raise 2 sons and 2 granddaughters.  As a college and camp nurse she mothered hundreds of young people along with Eugene and Jackey's college friends in her home across from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock.

Maxine's granddaughter Kristy Floyd wrote "Grandma Truck as we used to call her was literally the grandmother that lived 'over the river and through the woods'. It was always an adventure when we went to Hasty and Mt. Judea to spend time with the family. As time went on and we all grew, she became just Grandma who moved back to her home in Little Rock. I remember spitting watermelon seeds off the back porch and jumping on the trampoline with my cousins at her house.   Although there was a lot of play at Grandma's with our cousins, she always grounded us in prayer and the word of God. When we spent the night she read the Bible with us and sang hymns.  Her favorite song we would always sing was "There is Power in the Blood."  Grandma was the first to feed us when we hit the door and one of the people in my life that, as I have become an adult and need more and more prayer, I could count on the knowledge that she was fighting for me and my own little family through prayer."

Maxine's granddaughter Sarah Hefley wrote, "Grandma truck, Grandma farm, Mac, Maxine, Beaura, Ma...we all had a name for her. She was the matriarch of our family, she was our prayer warrior, she put God first and foremost and she would want the same for us all.

Driving on the way to visit her in Hasty, Josh and I would take turns puking on the side of the road. Dad would pretend to lose control of the brakes coming down the hill before Marshall.  I always kept my cool but not so much Josh.  But then we would hit the dirt road leading to our grandmother's house and the excitement would begin.  She would meet us at the car with a million kisses on the cheek. She would cook the best chicken and dumplings. She would take us out to the garden and around the farm (hence grandma farm) and let us feed the goats.  Harold would take myself, Josh, Kristy, and Laura out in the truck riding the dirt roads like any classic country song (hence grandma truck).  On our visits she spent most her time tending to mine and Kristy's poison ivy reactions.  We would have family reunions down the hill from her house at the Buffalo River.  At her home my cousins and I would run about the countryside just like my father and uncles had done growing up in the Ozarks.  These were some of my best memories.

Then she moved to Little Rock. This is the time that she not only was my grandmother but my friend. My brother, cousins, and neighborhood friends showed up at my grandmothers in the first few weeks when she arrived. We had lawn chairs for furniture, Little Debbie's for snacks, and Mario Cart for entertainment.  She was at every sport or scholastic event from grade school on.  My best friend and I would spend many summer weekends across the street at her house waking up for her infamous chocolate gravy and biscuits in the morning. She and I made many family reunion trips together, just the two of us. I would always get her on a family tree story to distract her from my speeding.  We always had to start the trip with a car wash despite the dirt roads up ahead.  Many years she hosted the holidays at her house cooking in the kitchen while we all played cards.  Grandma typically burn the marsh mellows on the sweet potato casserole.  We would all take turns turning down the thermostat in the house, opening doors and windows. It was a sauna most times. She was quite the cold natured woman.

I have so many wonderful memories with my grandmother. But the most memorable memories are of her testimony of faith. This woman loved the Lord. I have never known someone who has been though the losses in her life and come out with such joy and peace and gratefulness.  She would recite bible verses in passing, in her cards for my birthday or holidays.  Her face would light up when speaking of her Lord. Her prayer book was long.  I found out one year she was still praying for my ex boyfriends!  Years later I told her to put them at the bottom of the list for now.  I loved hearing her sing in church.  She would clap her hands and move to the music even in a Baptist church.  I don't know how many times I caught her in a nap with the Bible opened on her chest. No doubt, she was a child of God who had a passion in her faith.  Often she would recite scripture to me, mostly by memory, whenever it seemed relevant to the conversation at hand, and her face would immediately brighten and her eyes would be filled with tears of joy as she spoke the words. I would sit there and wonder if I could ever have a faith that strong. She was our prayer warrior. If there was ever anything on my mind, I would immediately call up Grandma and get her on base. She taught me how one's faith in prayer can be the peace that sets your free. She prayed not only for me but also my friends. There was a time where she asked me about how a friend of mine from grade school was doing.  I was in college at that.  I laughed and told her that we hadn't talked in some time of course. She told me that the next time I run in to that person let them know that my Grandma is still praying for them.  Her faith was evident in her music as well.  It wasn't uncommon for her to break out in a hymn out of nowhere.  In fact, there was a time I was at work in the hospital and I noticed I had a missed call from her.  Of course, there was a voicemail.  She had called to tell me how she had come across an old hymn she loved so much and then proceeded to sing this hymn until the voice mail cut her off.  She was certainly a character, and she certainly loved God!  She was a beloved mother, although I'm sure her sons can speak more to that than.  She raised three rowdy boys on her own, after the death of her first husband Kenneth Hefley, while going to school to become a nurse and working full time.  At her church, at a Christmas party, she was named "Mother of the Year" because always she kept her boys in church.  She was a mother to their friends providing food and a place to stay if ever needed. She loved her boys with all her heart and they knew it. I have seen them around her and they have nothing but love and respect for her. I think that is truly awesome. She was a beloved grandmother and great-grandmother. And she loved talking about each one of them in her infamous Christmas cards!   She always greeted you with her 20 smooches on the cheek!  She never stopped doing that no matter how old Josh, Kristy, Laura, Taylor, Bailey and I got.  Off course she continued with her great-grandchildren.

Grandma lived alone for years, but she had the most thankful and joyous soul you'd ever see. It was because she loved the Lord above anything else. He was her companion, and He was her foundation.  Sometimes it takes years for someone to come to this realization, but my grandmother sowed the path for you so you can start trusting in Jesus as your Savior today.  I know more than anything else that she would want you to leave today with that promise of salvation."

Services for Maxine will be held Thursday January 17, 2019 at 1:00 pm at the Yardell Chapel with Leo Dye officiating.  Burial will follow at Mt. Judea Cemetery.  Visitation will be one hour prior to the service starting at 12:00 pm.  Pallbearers will be family and friends.