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Submitted: 11/24/14 • Approved: 11/29/15 • Last Updated: 12/2/15 • R1053328-G1053328-S3
Robert
US Navy
World War II
March 23, 1927 - March 15, 2014
*Obituary
Northwest Arkansas Times
Monday, March 17, 2014
BENTONVILLE — Robert Douglas (Bob) Cheyne, 86, of Bentonville, Ark., passed away peacefully surrounded by family from complications from pneumonia on Saturday, March 15, 2014, in the palliative care unit at the Fayetteville Veteran's Medical Center.
Bob was born March 23, 1927, in Detroit, Mich., to James Garrick and Dorothy Stanley Cheyne. Both of his parents were captains in the Salvation Army and later, officers with the USO Clubs in Fayetteville, N.C.; Anniston, Ala.; and Little Rock, Ark. The fourth of seven children (an eighth brother died shortly after birth), Bob and his family moved to Chicago soon after he was born and resided there until 1942. As a high school student, his family moved to Little Rock where his parents began a 17-year career as USO directors. Bob attended Little Rock Central High School. He met the love of his life, Jennie Wiseman, who attended rival North Little Rock High at a USO function. After graduating and joining the Navy in 1944, he and Jennie married on June 16, 1945. They shared 60 years together before Jennie left this earthly home for her home in heaven on Aug. 28, 2005.
After his honorable discharge from the Navy at the end of World War II, where he served as an aviation radioman, he and Jennie lived in Anniston, Ala., for a short time. Soon after the birth of their first child in 1946, Bob was admitted to the University of Arkansas to pursue degrees in journalism and history - the two areas of interest that he truly loved. He and Jennie and their 5-month-old daughter settled in Fayetteville in 1947 where their two sons were born. While attending the university, Bob served as sports editor for the Northwest Arkansas Times covering Fayetteville High School and Razorback events. In June of 1948, he became the U of A's first Sports Information Director (titled Publicity Director at the time). He served in that position for 22 years.
During his tenure with the Razorback Athletic Department, Bob laid the groundwork for those who followed him in later years. He compiled the first complete record of all lettermen, scores and individual records dating back to 1894 (on the 60th anniversary of Razorback football, he located the three surviving members of that 1894 team and had them honored at the Homecoming game). With information gathered, he published 113 Razorback brochures over a 22-year period and was awarded National Collegiate Media Guide for eight years. While covering nearly 900 Razorback sporting events, Bob served with an array of athletic department leaders including John Barnhill, Otis Douglas, Bowden Wyatt, Jack Mitchell and Frank Broyles. In 1950 Bob and his wife, Jennie, traveled to radio stations all over the state to begin setting up what became known as the University of Arkansas Radio Sports Network. This eventually grew to over 107 stations in seven states by the 1964 football championship. After serving for 11 years with the title of director and broadcast-analyst, be became the first play-by-play "Voice of the Razorbacks" in both football and basketball. He was named Arkansas Sportscaster of the year six years by the National Association of Sportscasters. Bob also served for 18 years as director of the U of A annual Track Relays. In the 1950s he initiated the first celebration of "Dad's Day" during the Razorback football season. In 1954, he helped to found the College Sports Information Association and was a member of its first executive committee as well as serving as chairman of the NCAA Public Relations Committee. Bob's favorite memories of his years with the Razorbacks were all of the athletes who touched his life. They all had a special place in his heart and it was no secret that he could quote from memory each of their uniform numbers and individual player stats. He was so honored when these special players from his past elected him to their Razorback Hall of Honor - it was his proudest Razorback memory.
Bob and Jennie moved to Bentonville in 1969 where for 15 years he worked with Cooper Communities as director of advertising and public relations. He edited publications for Bella Vista Village, Cherokee Village and Hot Springs Village. He also directed the National Football Coaches Golf Tournaments. In 1977, he and John Cooper Jr. established the Cheyne/Cooper & Associates advertising agency. In 1985, at the invitation of longtime friend Sam Walton, Bob became the first corporate marketing director for the newly developed Sam's Club division of Wal-Mart. He became vice president of marketing in 1987. After retiring in 1997, he was invited to radio station KBVA-FM (106.5) as a senior account executive. This was a position he loved because of the people he worked with and the many wonderful clients he became acquainted with over the years. He again retired in December of 2012.
Bob was a member of First United Methodist Church in Bentonville where he taught a Sunday school class and sang in the choir for many years. He truly loved both of these services and treasured the friendships that he and Jennie shared with so many wonderful friends. He was honored to serve his church as a Lay Delegate to General Conference as well as a Lay leader for the state of Arkansas. At the community level he served as president of Fayetteville Lions Club and was a District Governor as well as a Lions International Counselor. During his years in Bentonville, Bob served on the Chamber of Commerce Board, the Benton County Razorback Club, and broadcasted Bentonville High School football. He was honored with the Arthur "Rabbit" Dickerson award for community service. He also served on the Board of Trustees of NorthWest Arkansas Community College and was appointed to two terms on the Arkansas Higher Education Coordinating Board.
Bob was preceded in death by his wife Jennie; his parents: two brothers, Don of Jacksonville, Alabama and Jim Jr. of Fort Smith, Ark., and two sisters, Dorothy (Mrs. Jim) Wilkins of Little Rock, Ark., and Edith (Mrs. Don) Ficken of Fort Morgan, Colo.
He is survived by a daughter, Cathy Deweese, and husband, Tommy of Fayetteville, Ark.; sons, Robert Cheyne, Jr. and wife, Sharon, of New Market, Ala., Gary Cheyne and wife, Rhonda, of Kernersville, N.C.; seven grandchildren, Lindsay Williams (Kendall) of Fayetteville, Hunter Deweese (Leanne) of Fayetteville, Mandy Lewis (Josh) of Kernersville, Stephanie Morris (Dave) of Winston-Salem, N.C., Amy Preddy (Randall), of Kernersville, Bobby Cheyne III (Andrea) of Owens Crossroads, Ala., and Scott Cheyne (Ashley) of New Market, Ala. He is also survived by 12 great-grandchildren, Ginny, Sydney and Kinley Williams of Fayetteville, Holden and John Grady Deweese also of Fayetteville, Kaylin and Jaxon Lewis and Dylan Preddy of Kernersville, Bryson Morris of Winson-Salem, Reece and Trent Cheyne of Owens Crossroads and Bentley Cheyne of New Market; two brothers, Rev. Bill Cheyne (Earline) of Van Buren, Ark., and the Rev. Dr. John Cheyne (Marie) of Richmond, Va., and brother-in-law, Don Ficken of Evans, Colo. The rest of the Cheyne/Wiseman family includes numerous nieces and nephews who share so many treasured memories.
Also left to treasure memories are friends and caregivers who not only meant so much to Bob, but to his entire family. A special thank you from the family goes to Florence "Mickey" Moore, her son-in-law Jody Hunt, and their whole family in Farmington who have cared for Daddy the last months of his life. Thanks as well to the staff of the VA Medical Center in Fayetteville and especially to those in the Palliative Care Unit for their loving care of our Dad (Papaw) during his final journey in life.
A visitation will be from 5 until 7 p.m. Wednesday, March 19, 2014, at Stockdale-Moody Funeral Services in Rogers.
A celebration of his life will be at 1 p.m. Thursday, March 20, 2014, at First United Methodist Church in Bentonville with the Rev. Rex Dickey and the Rev. Bill Cheyne officiating. Private burial will be in Bentonville Cemetery.
The family request that memorials be made to the First United Methodist Church, 201 N.W. Second St., Bentonville, AR 72712 for the maintenance of the Jennie Cheyne Memorial Garden.
Arrangements have been entrusted to Stockdale-Moody Funeral Services of Rogers. Words of comfort may be expressed at stockdalefuneral.com.
Virginia
September 15, 1927 - August 28, 2005
*Obituary
The Morning News of Northwest Arkansas
Tuesday, August 30, 2005
Virginia "Jennie" Wiseman Cheyne, of Bentonville, wife of longtime Razorback sports information director and sportscaster Bob Cheyne, passed away Sunday, Aug. 28, 2005, at Washington Regional Medical Center Fayetteville, after a long illness. She was 77.
The seventh of eight children born to George Marvin and Sarah Virginia Wiseman, she was born at North Little Rock on Sept. 15, 1927. A younger sister died in a fire when she was 4. Her patents, two other sisters and four bothers, preceded her in death.
She graduated from North Little Rock High School and within three weeks married her husband, then serving at the Naval Air Station at Millington, Tenn., near Memphis. After a shirt post-war period living at Anniston, Ala., where their fast child was born, they moved to Fayetteville in 1947, and would spend the rest of their married life in Northwest Arkansas.
Most important of all was her love and devotion to her family. She was known affectionately by her grandchildren and great-grandchildren as "Gigi." To all who knew her, she was a kind, loving person with a deep Christian faith who always had a smile on her face. Even during a near fatal attack of Guillian-Barre syndrome in 1992, and again after six years on kidney dialysis, she consistently encouraged others to stay with rehabilitation and have faith in God. All who knew her admired her own strength through years of kidney disease and heart failure.
While her husband attended the University of Arkansas, she became active in a wide variety of activities. She was president of the student wises club (DAMES), vice president of the Junior Civic League, a Cub Scout leader, Girl Scout leader and counselor, and a homeroom mother for 12 consecutive years. She also served as the Salvation Army board.
She also became active in the Junior Golf Association, and was a longtime playing partner with the late Barbara Broyles. While her husband served as a Lions District Governor, she assisted him as chairman of the Arkansas delegation at three international conventions in Miami, Toronto, Canada, and Nice, France.
She chaired the ladies activities at the College Sports Information Directors Association in Chicago while attending with her husband, and in the early '60s, was nominated as "Woman of the Year" in Arkansas by the Arkansas Democrat.
When the family moved to Bentonville in 1969, she continued her active life. She became co-president with her husband of the Bentonville High School PTA; and was a volunteer co-chairman for three years of the Youth Program at the First United Methodist Church. She served twice on the administrative board, on the parsonage committee and as a volunteer far Meals on Wheels. She was also chairman of the jury selection committee of Benton County for several years.
She was employed as a receptionist and later office manager at the Dr. Don Cohagan Medical Clinic from 1971 to 1991, and was loved by hundreds of his patients.
Upon extensive research, she learned that she was a direct descendant of William Wiseman, recognized by the North Carolina Daughters of the American Revolution, as a hero of the Battle of King's Mountain. As a result of that finding, she became a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution, James Bright chapter in Bentonville. She recently honored her revolutionary war descendant with a plaque at the Bella Vista Wall of Honor.
She has also been a member and vice president of PEO Chapter V in Bentonville.
The Cheynes celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary on June 16 of this year with a reception at the First United Methodist Church in Bentonville. They had celebrated their golden wedding anniversary in 1995 at Bentonville's historic Peel Mansion and renewed their marriage vows the following day at church.
On the occasion of their 50th wedding anniversary, she presented her husband with a beautifully framed verse, "Across the years I will walk with you in deep green forests, on shores of sand, and when our time on earth is through, in Heaven, too, you will have my hand."
Their's was a deep and loving relationship without end.
In so many other ways they were partners throughout life. When her husband co-founded the first Bentonville/Bella Vista Razorback Club, she and her friend Martha Hickox handled the ticket sales and decorations for nearly 10 years. Later in spite of dialysis treatments away from home, she attended virtually every quarterly meeting of the Arkansas Higher Education Coordinating Board during her husband's eight years as a member of that board.
She loved gardening and twice won blue ribbons for her roses at the Benton County Fair and completed a number of beautiful ceramic nativity sets for family and friends. With her husband she loved sports of every kind including the Razorbacks, jogging and walking. She once stated first place in the annual Bank Run three-mile walk with her friend Marilyn Bogle.
She is survived by her husband of Bentonville; a daughter and son-in-law, Cathy and Tommy Deweese of Fayetteville; a son and daughter-in-law, Bob Jr. and Sharon Cheyne of New Market, Ala.; a son and daughter-in-law, Gary and Rhonda Cheyne of Burlington, N.C.; seven grandchildren, including Lindsay and her husband Kendall Williams of Fayetteville; Hunter Deweese and his fiancee Leanne Jamerson of Fayetteville, Bob Cheyne III and Scott Cheyne of New Market, Ala., Amanda and her husband Josh Lewis of Kernersville, N.C., Stephanie Cheyne of Winston-Salem, N.C., and Amy Cheyne of Burlington, N.C.
She was also greatly loved by five great-grandchildren, Ginny, Sydney and Kinley Williams of Fayetteville, and Kaylin and Jaxon Lewis of Winston-Salem, N.C.
Other surviving members of her family include two brothers-in-law, the Rev. William Cheyne and his wife Earline of Fort Smith, the Rev. Dr. John Cheyne and his wife Marie of Richmond, Va.; and four other sisters-in-law, Edith Ficken and her husband Don of Fort Morgan, Colo., Dorothy Wilkins and her husband Jim of Little Rock, Reba Cheyne of Fort Smith and Billie Jean Wiseman of North Little Rock.
Jennie was loved and will be missed by numerous nieces and nephews, as well as many dear friends throughout Bentonville and Northwest Arkansas.
The family asks in lieu of flowers, that contributions be made in her name as a memorial at the First United Methodist Church in Bentonville, or to the Kidney Foundation in Arkansas.
Backstrom-Pyeatte Funeral Home in Bentonville is in charge of arrangements. A time of visitation will be held for family members only at the funeral home. That will be followed by a private burial service at Bentonville Cemetery.
A memorial service to celebrate her life will be held at 2 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 1 at the First United Methodist Church in Bentonville. The Rev. Dennis Spence, the Rev. Bill Cheyne and the Rev. Ben Hines will officiate.
A reception to meet with members of the family will follow in Hines Hall at the church.
Married June 16, 1945
Contributed on 11/24/14 by judyfrog
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Record #: 1053328