Audrey Ann Burtrum- Stanley

• AUDREY BURTRUM-STANLEY
• Born: May 12, 1950
• Joplin, MO
• Died: October 12, 2026
• North Little Rock, AR
• Parents: Norma and Joe “Hi Dollar” Burtrum
• Sibling: Joseph H. Burtrum, Jr., Ronnie Mitchell
• Spouse: James W. Stanley, Jr.
• Child: James W. Stanley, III
• High School: Joplin High School – Class of 1968
• College: Missouri Southern College (Art Major)
• Employment:
• Broadcasting
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• WDAF Kansas City, MO;
• KTTS Springfield, MO
• KAAY Little Rock, AR
• PBS – Arkansas (fundraising volunteer)
• KSSN – Little Rock
• News Leader (newspaper) – Springfield
• Arkansas Democrat (newspaper)

Organizations

• Friends of PBS twice President
• National Friends of PBS - delegate
• Arkansas Urban Forestry Council – President
• Lions Club – NLR
• Sierra Club – Helped establish the Central Arkansas Group
• Little Rock Sertoma Club - President
• Bro. Paul’s – Friendly Chapel - Volunteer
• International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers
• Volunteers for Improvement and Preservation
• Rebecca’s Arkansas Lung Association Auxiliary
• United Federation of Doll Clubs (UFDC)
• Coalition Against the Death Penalty

Awards and Accomplishments

• PBS Award
• Citizen of the Year – NLR Chamber of Commerce
• High Profile Section Feature
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•  Did articles on Rte. 66 including for the book “Rte. 66 and the Sixty-sixers”
•  Assisted author, Nigel Hamilton, with the book “Call Me Diana”
•  Assisted Robert White with his book “Touched by Kennedy”
•  Did articles on the Buffalo River and led the efforts to save the Hwy. 65 Bridge
•  Planted a Rose Garden at Joplin High School to honor her classmates
•  Was a delegate to the Missouri Young Democrats Convention
•  Held the record for the most funds raised in one day for PBS in Arkansas as the on-air hostess
•  Read names on the Vietnam Veterans Wall in Washington on the 40th anniversary
•  Saved an historic live oak tree in North Little Rock (official city tree)
•  Erected the world’s largest horizontal sundial in North Little Rock (received an award from the Bricklayers and Craftsman Union)
•  Had a fountain, trees, and flowers placed in the Faucett Memorial Park in NLR
•  Assisted with numerous fish fries for the Friendly Chapel in order to raise funds
•  Coordinated the Take Pride in America annual clean up at Burns Park
•  Worked to stop the placement of a cell phone tower and an amusement park in Burns Park
•  Lead the clean-up of the Spring River
•  Planted Dogwood trees at the Old Mill and Pine Trees at National Guard Armories
•  Distributed books to NLR Schools for students to write about their experiences
•  Help plant historic trees at the Capitol, Bowen Law School, the Pulaski, Garland, and White County courthouses, in NLR; Louisville, KY; Atchison, KS; Granby, MO; the U of A Law School in Fayetteville Riverfront Drive and Faucette Triangle Park.
•  Raised funding for and spoke at the dedication of the Arkansas Vietnam Veterans Memorial
•  Received the Take Pride in America Award from President Ronald Reagan
•  Established First Neighborhood Watch in Parkhill
•  Researched Storybook Architecture for North Little Rock History Commission
•  Assisted Cartoonist, George Fishe with environmental efforts
•  Placed 50 state flags in the Baring Cross School
•  Placed an exhibit at the Pulaski County Courthouse “Celebrating Your Religious Freedoms”:
•  Rang bells for the Salvation Army
•  Planted a tree at the Little Rock City Hall to honor Vietnam Veterans
•  Was named a “Hometown Hero” – carried the Olympic Torch through NLR delivered the Olympic message and accompanied the “freedom train” with the torch to Memphis, then onto the Olympics in Atlanta
•  Was active in supporting the Arkansas Lung Auxiliary and secured the Statute of Nicotiana in campaigning against smoking
•  Marched in Washington DC to the Chinese Embassy to protest the maltreatment of protestors at Timmamen Square
•  Acted in the movie “The North and The South – filmed in Arkansas (while filming she met actor, Gregory Peck
•  Was a hostess on City Confidential’s coverage of the Alice McArthur murder entitled “The Politics of Murder”
•  Secured the donation of a Razorback statute to the Little Rock Zoo
•  Acquired numerous items from the Jacqueline Kennedy estate at a New York Auction
•  Organized a donation drive for the Joplin, MO tornado victims in 2011
•  Helped in the efforts to stop commercial mining at the Crater of Diamonds State Park
•  Received the Heart of America tourism award
•  Helped secure the “Over the Jumps” carousel
•  Restored the nativity figures at the Capitol
•  Contributed to the restoration of Bonniebrook, home of Rose O’Neill
•  Obtained “rubbings” on the Vietnam Wall of her 22 High School classmates that died in Vietnam

Among her favorite places Audrey enjoyed visiting was the Vietnam Veterans Wall in Washington, Monument Valley, Hyde Park, Buffalo River, and the redwoods. Broadcasting was much of Audrey’s life – she did her first television commercial at the age of 4 for her father’s car dealership, “Hi Dollar Joe.”

One of her greatest experiences was her visit to the Holyland in 1976, visiting to the Dome of the Rock, the Mt. of Olives, Gethsemane, Bethlehem, Nazareth, Masada, and the Wailing Wall.

Other experiences she enjoyed were attending the Billy Graham Crusade, the total eclipse of the sun, seeing her son graduate from the Fire Academy, meeting Margaret Thatcher and Michael Gorbochov, and spending an evening on the RMS Queen Mary.

Audrey accepted Christ at an early age and her Southern Baptist faith was very important to her. So was her commitment to community activism and she took great pride in projects to improve her nation, town and state. She participated in vigils at the Governor’s Mansion to oppose executions on behalf of the Coalition Against the Death Penalty. Audrey held a special place in her heart for the less fortunate and the forgotten, and or veterans, always going above and beyond to make a difference in their lives.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to: PBS, The Friendly Chapel, The Arkansas Lung Association, The Arbor Day Foundation, CARTI, and The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund.

The Stanley family sincerely expresses its appreciation for all of the kindest and excellent care Audrey received at Life Touch Hospice, The Springs at Premiere, Diagnostic Clinic, and CARTI. They ably assisted her in her three valiant fight to overcome her cancer.