Thomas Cyril Earhart

Thomas Cyril Earhart, age 100, of Mena, passed away Monday, June 5, 2023, in Mena, Arkansas. Funeral services will be held at 11:00 a.m., Monday, June 12, 2023, at the First Christian Church in Mena, Arkansas. There will be a visitation one hour prior to the services (10:00 a.m). Interment with military honors will be at Pinecrest Memorial Park in Mena, under the direction of Beasley-Wood Funeral Home.

Thomas was born in Mena, Arkansas on October 18, 1922, to Wesley and Jewell (Wiles) Earhart. He was raised on a small farm across the highway from the current Ouachita Country Club.

Thomas graduated from Mena High School in 1939. After high school he worked at the Shady Gap CC Camp. From there he went to Bridgeport, Connecticut, to help convert a GE plant to war time production. He was drafted in ’43 and served till the war was won. He was a sergeant in the Army Air Corps (which later became the Air Force) and was a member of the 38th Bomb Group Ground Crew that repaired B-25 bombers in the Southwest Pacific from Australia to Okinawa. He was very proud of his military service and attended several 38th Bomb Group reunions located in different cities around the country. He was always eager to share his war stories. He was grateful to have had the opportunity to go on one of the Honor Flights that took WWII veterans to Washington, D.C., to see the WWII Memorial and other sites. After the war Thomas returned to Mena and worked in various positions until he opened Earhart Sheet Metal at 524 DeQueen St. in Mena.

He married Virginia Wallace of Mena on July 22, 1950, at First Christian Church in Mena. They had two children, Treva and Tommy. They lived their entire married life in Mena in homes that Thomas had designed and built. After retiring from the sheet metal business, he became a building contractor and built numerous houses in Mena and the surrounding areas. Thomas and Virginia were long time members of the First Christian Church in Mena. Thomas served on the board for 66 years. He gave freely of his time to maintain, remodel and update the church building and grounds. He loved flowers and planted them to beautify his home and the church grounds. He served 29 years on the Board of Pinecrest Cemetery and spent countless hours selling grave spaces, marking graves and assisting people who had lost loved ones.

Thomas is survived by his two children; Treva Sawatski of Fayetteville, Arkansas and Tommy Earhart of Mena, and one sister, Barbara McMillan (Roger) of Jonesboro, Arkansas; four grandchildren, Ashton Herod (Adam) of Mena, Jay Sawatski (Ashley) of Farmington, Arkansas, Carla Cheek (Jesse) of Farmington, Arkansas, and Johanna Hudson (Morgan) of Farmington, Arkansas; 9 great-grandchildren, Macy, Maddox, Makenzie, and Myles Herod of Mena, Arkansas, Paxton Sawatski of Farmington, Arkansas, Caleb Conner and Colson Cheek of Farmington, and Joelle Hudson and MJ Hudson of Farmington; nieces and nephews, Shanda Rogers (Blake) Shelle Morgan (Jay) and Roger Allan McMillan (Leslie) all of Jonesboro, Arkansas, Jerry Bowen (Sharon) of O’Fallon, Illinois, and Rod Bowen (Kay) of Conway, Arkansas.

Thomas is preceded in death by his wife of 54 years, Virginia (Wallace) Earhart; his parents, Wesley and Jewell Earhart.

Pallbearers are Adam Herod, Jay Sawatski, Jesse Cheek, Morgan Hudson, Rod Bowen, and Brian Hilton.

Online obituary and guest book available at www.beasleywoodfuneralhome.com.

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