Jerry Wayne Tarkington
Apr. 18, 1952 - Oct. 8, 2002
NLRHS Class of 1970
 

Jerry Wayne Tarkington, of Sherwood, passed away October 8, 2002. He was born April 18, 1952 in Little Rock to Harold W. and Katherine Louise (Crafton) Tarkington.

Mr. Tarkington retired National Guard where he served in the 39th Aviation Unit and later the 1st & 114th Aviation Units. He was the owner of Tropical Hair Hut in Gravel Ridge, and also loved his job as an assistant general manager at the Arkansas fairground complex. He also liked to hunt loved drag racing and his 55 Chevrolet racecar. A Southern Baptist who was a “jack of all trades” and enjoyed new things and doing his yard work. He loved everyone and everything and everyone loved him. He was the “center of everyone’s world” who enjoyed taking care of his wife and family.

Mr. Tarkington is preceeded in death by his father Harold, W. Tarkington.

Survivors include his wife, Laveda Tarkington; his mother, Katherine Louise Tarkington; three sons, Steven Wayne Tarkington, Bobby Heffner and Louis B. Heffner; two daughters, Amy Lynn Tarkington and Kathy Marie Tarkington; one brother, Larry Harold Tarkington; eight grandchildren, Bobby L. Heffner III, Haley Heffner, Jerry Stewart Tarkington, Gregory Tarkington, Cheyenne Shepard, Emmalee Heffner, Kelsey Heffner and Cody Lynn Isaac.

Funeral services will be held at 2:00 p.m., Friday October 11, 2002 at
Griffin-Leggett-Rest Hills Chapel, 7724 Landers Road, North Little
Rock, (501) 835-3515 with Reverend Paul Rice officiating. Interment
will follow at Rest Hills Memorial Park.

Burial: Rest Hills Memorial Park
North Little Rock, Pulaski, Arkansas, USA

NOTE 1:  Worker Dies In Fairgrounds Fall Story by News 4 Arkansas Posted 10/9/02 8:59:40 AM   -    A Sherwood man died Tuesday while working to get the State Fair ready for you and thousands of other visitors. 53-year-old Jerry Tarkington and 31-year-old Terry Gibson got in a cage and were lifted 16 feet above ground to hang a sign. Police say the two walked to one side of the cage and part of the cage gave in, killing Tarkington and sending Gibson to the hospital, where doctors list him in stable condition. Despite this accident, fairground employees say people should not be worried about safety at the Fair, which starts Friday. "All the rides will be inspected by the Arkansas Department of Labor and the ride inspectors. We've got a safety team coming in tomorrow”, explains Jim Pledger, of the Arkansas State Fair. The two men worked for a national food concessions company, but both live in Pulaski county and were stationed at the fairgrounds year round.

NOTE 2: Pertinent online news article (https://www.safteng.net/index.php/30-incident-alert-archives/fall-accidents-includes-slips-a-trips)
UPDATE, Sherwood man killed at state fairgrounds
By Warren Watkins, Editor
Jerry Tarkington, 53, of Sherwood was killed Tuesday, Oct. 8, in an accident at the state fairgrounds. David Bates, assistant area director for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration said a preliminary report had been called into the OSHA office. The report indicated Tarkington was in a basket which was suspended from a forklift when the accident occurred. According to the Little Rock Police Department, part of the basket broke and it rolled off the tines of the forklift, falling about 16 feet. “We have to investigate all workplace work-related fatalities,” Bates said. “There were 32 deaths investigated in the last twelve months, and 25 in the year before that. We had one last month at the Garland County fairgrounds when a worker was electrocuted while disassembling some equipment,” Bates said. Injured in the incident was Terry Gibson, 31, of North Little Rock. The two were hanging a sign from the basket. Both were employees of Volume Services America, the food vendor for the state fair.

https://www.legacy.com/obituaries/name/jerry-tarkington-obituary?pid=534821