Gladis Corine Simpson

Gladis Corine Simpson, known as a friend to many and a beloved family member to a host of nieces and nephews and their offspring, passed away Friday, Feb. 2, 2024. Her nephew, Tommy, and his wife Donna were with her when she died after having kept vigil beside her during her final days.

Born Jan. 15, 1920, she had marked her 104th birthday the previous month. Corine had been a resident of Brookdale Senior Living in Conway for three years, but before her time there, she lived most of her adult life in Rector, Ark. During the World War II era, she and a couple of her sisters went to Detroit, Mich., to work in the automotive industry. In Rector, she worked for many years for the propane gas company, where her husband, J.T. also worked. The company’s name changed a few times; Corine’s ability to treat colleagues and customers with genuine respect and professionalism did not.

The last living child of seven children born to Rhoda (Chilcutt) and William (Bill) Reed, Corine was a benevolent matriarch to her siblings’ sons and daughters, their children, their grandchildren, and even great-grandchildren. Family described her as the living embodiment of humility and grace with a sprinkling of humor mixed in. Although she might insist that she was not mentally sharp, as late as December of 2022, she easily recalled details about the consolidation of some small schools in rural Clay County into a centralized school at Boydsville, and the use of a windmill on their farm to generate power and charge the battery that allowed the family to listen to the radio. She and her sister, Sallie, started following a soap opera on the radio, she recalled, and they would sneak in from work in the garden to catch up on their story. Asked what the name of the soap opera was, Corine responded “Ma Perkins” without ever missing a beat.

She received special nicknames from her family — “Reno” being a favorite — and she coined a few monikers of her own. For example, her nieces Jannette and Debbie were “Nettie”and “Deb.” Corine hosted family gatherings on Labor Day weekend, insisted on preparing lunch or two nieces who were working in Rector one summer, and proudly displayed photos of graduations, engagements, and the snapshots of nephew Tommy Reed’s family in an annual calendar. She was an excellent cook although she frequently apologized for or critiqued her creations while her guests were preparing to go back for seconds. She loved to read books while her eyesight allowed, and she spent many an hour doing crossstitching and sewing.

She was a member of First United Methodist Church in Rector for decades and cherished her church family. On her 103rd birthday, several of her fellow church members made the trek to Conway to be there for a celebration. When some of her sisters were still alive and attending the church, they sat on the same pew, which affectionately became known as the “sisters’ pew.” Her Christian faith was central to her life, and in her final months, she told her family she prayed for them daily. She also was confident in her faith that she was ready to be with Jesus.

She was preceded in death by her husband, J.T. Simpson; her parents, Rhoda and Bill Reed; her brothers, Silas Reed and Thomas Reed; and sisters Duel Simpson, Sallie Herren, Goldie Parmenter, and Vergine Thompson.

Survivors include a host of relatives and friends.

Services were held on Monday, February 5, 2024, at 12 p.m. at the First United Methodist Church in Rector. Interment was at the Woodland Heights Cemetery.

You may sign the condolence book at www.irbyfuneralhome.com