Ashton Pugh MCCOMBS, JR

Ashton
August 4, 1925 - February 20, 2004

Joyce
December 12, 1931 - March 30, 2022

Obituary
Jones-Hartshorn Funeral Home
Hamburg, Arkansas

Mary Joyce Denton McCombs, 90, of Arkadelphia, passed away
Wednesday, March 30, 2022 in Fayetteville. Mrs. McCombs was born
on December 12, 1931, in her grandparents’ home in Hamburg, where
her grandfather, a country doctor, delivered her. She was the only child
of P.E. and Vivian Simpson Denton. Mrs. McCombs lived with her
parents in Little Rock, where she had a happy childhood taking violin
lessons and riding the trolley to movies in her after-school time. At age
11, her father died and she and her mother returned to Hamburg to live
with her grandparents in the house in which she was born. She
graduated from Hamburg High School and was valedictorian of her
class. At age 15, she started dating the love of her life, Ashton P.
McCombs and after high school graduation she joined him at the
University of Arkansas, where he was a graduate student. She was a
member of Zeta Tau Alpha and graduated Phi Beta Kappa with a degree
in history. While at the University of Arkansas, she developed a lifelong
love for Razorback football and took great pride in victories over Texas
throughout her lifetime. In November 1952, she married Ashton and
moved back to Hamburg, where they lived for many years and raised
two children. Mrs. McCombs taught second grade in Fountain Hill for 32
years. She loved her job, was an exceptional teacher, and had many
students who adored her, including her daughter! In 1987 she and her
husband moved to Arkadelphia to be closer to family. In Arkadelphia, she
worked for Group Living and was a member of the Philharmonic Club,
the Clark County Historical Society, and the Library Club. Mrs. McCombs
was an active member of the First Presbyterian Church, where she sang
in the choir and served on the worship committee for many years. Mrs.
McCombs loved to travel, read, watch movies and her cats. She was a
prolific letter writer and kept a daily diary from 1943 until 2020. Her
home was always filled with the sound of classical music and opera and
she always seemed happiest when attending a wonderful concert or one
of her favorite operas. She took many trips to Memphis and Dallas and
even a few to New York and Vienna to enjoy the opera. She loved
having an annual birthday party with her friends for Mozart. Mrs.
McCombs maintained a joyful attitude throughout her entire life and was
a wonderful example to her family of a life well-lived. Even when her
memory failed her she was happy and cheerful, never complaining.
She is preceded in death by her husband, Ashton P. McCombs, Jr. in
2004; a son, Ashton P. McCombs III in 2021 and her parents, P.E. and
Vivian Simpson Denton.
She is survived by her daughter, Mary McCombs Whipple and husband,
Ross, of Arkadelphia; her daughter-in-law, Betts McCombs of
Fayetteville; seven grandchildren, Mary Elizabeth Whipple Eldridge and
husband, Conner, Margaret Whipple Doose and husband, Marc, Emily
Whipple Nadeau and husband, Jason, Caroline McCombs Motes and
husband, Josh, Ashton P. McCombs IV, Anna Stewart McCombs and Will
McCombs and eight great-grandchildren, Will Eldridge, Henry Eldridge,
Tully Eldridge, Max Doose, Madeline Doose, Ross Nadeau, Charlotte
Nadeau, and Isabella Motes.
Memorial services will be 10:30 a.m., Friday, April 29, 2022, at the First
Presbyterian Church in Arkadelphia with Rev. Jason Smith officiating.
Graveside services will be 3 p.m., Friday, April 29, 2022, in the Hamburg
Cemetery with Rev. Toby Austin officiating. Memorials may be made to
the First Presbyterian Church, 1220 Pine Street, Arkadelphia, AR 71923
or Group Living, Inc., 700 Main Street #200, Arkadelphia, AR 71923 or
the SLS Community, 4375 N. Vantage Drive, Fayetteville, AR 72703.

Contributed on 5/7/23 by deltabelle55
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Record #: 1483841

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