Dr. Jim Strong

Dr. James Edmund (Jim Ed) Strong, 94, died April 6, 2011, surrounded by family. A lifelong Methodist, he was born in the community of Manchester, AR on July 31, 1916 to Samuel Webb and Ruth Shugart Strong. He attended Arkadelphia public schools, Henderson State Teachers College, and was a 1941 graduate of Baylor College of Dentistry.

Dr. Strong served as a dentist in the US Naval Dental Corps during World War II. Following the bombing of Pearl Harbor, he served aboard the USS Sheridan as part of the United States forces drive to regain the Pacific from the Japanese army and was part of the initial landing force on several invasions of the Pacific Islands, including Tarawa and Guam. Years after the war ended, his family received calls and visits from fellow sailors and soldiers who testified to his bravery and professionalism during the war as a front line attendee to those wounded in battle.

After the war, Dr. Strong returned to his hometown of Arkadelphia where he practiced dentistry for more than 35 years. He was well known as a man of integrity, honor, and honesty. A lover of the outdoors and hard work, Dr. Strong tended to his farm and ranch land as attentively as he did his dental patients. An endless repository of fact and fiction, he also enjoyed entertaining friends and family members with stories and tales.

In 1971 at the age of 56, he married Helen McDonald Strong and instantly became a loving father and grandfather to her family. He and Helen became active members of the Arkie Stars square dance club and enjoyed surrounding themselves with family, especially during the holidays. He showed six grandchildren the proper way to feed goldfish and ride ponies and later taught his great grandchildren the art of raising chickens and collecting eggs. Many friends, family, and neighbors benefited from his seemingly endless supply of eggs, and he was always delighted to share them.

He was preceded in death by his wife, Helen; his brother, Dr. Samuel Webb Strong, Jr.; his sister, Sarah Strong Davidson; his step-son, William T. (Bill) McDonald; and his step-grandson, Thomas Edmund McDonald. He is survived by his step-daughter, Elaine and her husband Don Collins; step-son, J. T. McDonald; nephews, James Davidson and Richard Davidson of Gurdon; Dr. Sam Strong of Little Rock; nieces, Ruth Louise Davidson Wells of Bryant and Rev. Carolyn Strong Woodson of Yountville, CA; five grandchildren, nine great grandchildren, and many grand nieces and nephews.

Graveside funeral services will be held Saturday, April 9 at 3 p.m. in Rose Hill Cemetery, Arkadelphia. There will be no formal visitation. In lieu of flowers, the family request memorials be made to the Clark County Humane Society, First Baptist Church, Manchester United Methodist Church, or First United Methodist Church, all located in Arkadelphia, AR.