Virginia (Bannister) Melton of Cave City, Arkansas, departed this life on Thursday, December 26, 2024, at the age of 91. She was born December 16, 1933, in Myrtle, Mississippi, the daughter of James and Dessie Lee (Stacks) Bannister.
Mrs. Melton was a homemaker. She loved going to church, reading her Bible, and listening to gospel music. Her hobbies included playing with her dog, Chubby, and having cookouts with her family. She was a member of the Pentecostal Trinity Lighthouse Church.
She was preceded in death by her first husband, Floyd “Dude” Ruminer; her second husband, Henry Melton; one infant son, James Eldon Ruminer; one stepson, Jackie Lloyd Melton; five brothers, Samuel Glenn Bannister, James Allen Bannister, John Wesley Bannister, Clifford Leon Bannister, and Joe Bannister; one sister, Mary Ann Adams; and her parents.
Mrs. Melton is survived by three sons, Leroy Ruminer and wife, Catlyn, of Harrison, Arkansas, Cecil Ray Ruminer and wife, Debra, of Desha, Arkansas, and Alfred Lynn Ruminer and wife, Anna, of Temple, Texas; one daughter, Mary Kathryn Clark and husband, Tim, of Mountain View, Arkansas; two stepsons, Scott Melton and wife, Toni, of Strawberry, Arkansas, and Rodney Melton and wife, Angie, of Pocahontas, Arkansas; one stepdaughter, Lisa Melton Steele and husband, Craig, of Wichita, Kansas; nine grandchildren; 16 great-grandchildren; many nieces and nephews; and a lifetime of friends.
Friends may visit at Dugan Pentecostal Church in Pleasant Grove beginning at 10:00 a.m. Monday. Services will begin at 11:00 a.m. Interment will be in Townsend Cemetery in Smithville.
Those honored to serve as pallbearers will be Brently Ruminer, Nick Clark, Nathan Clark, Donald Ray, Koby Ray, and Aaron Baldridge. Honorary pallbearers will be Eddie Meadows, Glen Meadows, Seth Tucker, and Dalton Tucker.
Arrangements by Jackson’s Newark Funeral Home.
