W.N. Carlton was born in Cowlake, Arkansas, on May 14, 1937, to Woodrow Wilson Carlton and Easter Lily (Barker) Carlton, and departed this life on November 18, 2022, at his home in Beedeville, Arkansas, at the age of 85 surrounded by his wife, Terry, and daughter, Pam. A celebration of life will be held Tuesday, November 22, 2022, at 10 a.m. at the Beedeville Church of Christ in Beedeville, Arkansas. Visitation will be Monday, November 21, 2022, from 5:30 to 8:00 p.m. at Jackson’s Funeral Home in Newport, Arkansas.
W. N. is survived by his wife of 50 years, Terry (Largent) Carlton; daughters, Cindy Johnson of Little Rock, AR; Melinda Holman and husband, David, of Maumelle, AR; and Pam Varnado and husband, Dennis, of Bossier City, LA. Other survivors include grandsons, Jason Faughn of Beedeville, AR; Jacob Nicholson of Enola, AR; and Noah Blake Miley of Fair Oaks, AR; granddaughters, Julie Nicholson of Chicopee, MA., and Sarah Varnado of Bossier City, LA. He is also survived by his brothers, Gary (Maria) Carlton of Cash, AR; Levi (Tanaya) Carlton of Newport, AR; Heath (Caroline) Carlton of Batesville, AR; and Rodney Carlton (Michelle) of Akron, OH, and eight great-grandchildren and many nieces, nephews, and friends.
He is preceded in death by his father and mother, W.W. and Easter Carlton; his step-mother, Carlotta Carlton: brother, Gerald Carlton, and sisters, Charlene Avery and Linda Sue Beard.
W.N gave his life to Christ as a young man and led singing then at the Church of Christ in Cowlake, Arkansas. He attended grade school in a one-room schoolhouse in Cowlake up until he moved to the new school in Beedeville where he graduated and joined the United States Army National Guard shortly thereafter and honorably served until August of 1962. He was a farmer by trade and spent many hours farming with his father and brothers and later with Terry when he began farming for himself. He spent many an hour on Case and John Deere tractors and watering rice with whatever Sam dog he had at the time that was always riding the four-wheeler and backhoe with him. Off and on, he raised a variety of breeds of cattle both as a hobby and to sell while running the feedlot west of the house. W.N. enjoyed hunting and restoring old tractors and restoring especially his red B-model Mack truck. Some of the times he was happiest was when he was water skiing off the White River on Taylor Bay on a wooden slalom ski big enough to scare even the most talented skier. Everyone got a kick out of watching him take off and land on the sand bar because didn’t want to get his hair wet. He was an avid horseman and hauled his family all over the South to show horses for almost twenty years. Once he retired from farming, he moved on to manage duck hunting farms around Beedeville in a way only W.N. could – his way. He often took close family and friends on a quiet ride through the farm to see the eagles’ nests on the Mallard farm where he was so proud to have provided a safe haven. He enjoyed drinking coffee every morning with his buddies in Beedeville at the “coffee shop” and visiting with his friends at their farm shops, horseshow friends at their trailers at horse shows, and seeing which horseshow mammas brought the best food.
W.N. would want to be remembered for his wisdom and advice and his love for family and friends.
