Foster "Mark" Adkins, III

Foster Mark Adkins III, 65, passed away on Friday, December 19, 2025, in Little Rock, Arkansas. Born on September 11, 1960, in Long Beach, California, he was a devoted husband and father to 6 children. He spent most of his life in San Diego, California, before settling down in Benton, Arkansas, which he called home for over 20 years.

He was a proud Marine who served as a marksmanship instructor and won several awards as a competitive shooter. He was a master plasterer for more than 40 years and worked on historic buildings like the Lamar Bathhouse, the Lakeport Plantation, and the Old State House. He was a faithful, lifelong member of the Lutheran Church. He was an outdoorsman who loved playing frisbee golf, camping, and being in the ocean. He will forever be known as the man who could do anything, a larger-than-life personality who made a lasting impression on everyone he met. He will be remembered by his pithy catchphrases (“No doubt!”), his sense of humor, and the values of honesty, integrity, and hard work that he instilled in his children and his grandson, Foster Mark Adkins V, his greatest achievement, who he was fortunate enough to spend some of the happiest years of his life with.

He is survived by his family, who he loved more than anything else in this world: his wife of 29 years, Joddie Adkins; his children, Misty Adkins, Eric Burns, John Burns (Karen), Foster Mark Adkins IV (Whitney), Kyle Mark Adkins, and Maya Adkins; his grandchildren, Foster Mark Adkins V, Reagan Nagle, and John Burns Jr.; his sisters, Kim Kyne and Stacey Mitchell (Mark); his nieces and nephews, Matthew Mitchell (Gina), Robert Mitchell (May), Holly Mitchell, and Rachael Bridges; and several great nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his father, Foster Adkins Jr.; his mother, Eugenia “Jeanie” Adkins; and his grandparents, Robert and Veryl Brown.

A celebration of Mark’s life will be held at 10 a.m. Friday, January 2, 2026, at First Lutheran Church in Benton, Arkansas, with interment at the Arkansas State Veterans Cemetery in North Little Rock, Arkansas, at 12:00 p.m.

“He who works with his hands is a laborer. He who works with his hands and his head is a craftsman. He who works with his hands, and his head, and his heart is an artist.”