of Little Rock, AR

January 28, 1923 - July 5, 2025

Bernice Lee Tarkington, 102, of Little Rock, Arkansas passed away peacefully on July 5, 2025. She was born January 28, 1923 in Gravesville, AR to Mal and Mandy Holland. She was preceded in death by her husband, Bernard Tarkington; her son, Roger Tarkington, Sr. and her grandson, Randy Edwards. Many others have gone before her whom she loved and cherished always.

Bernice met Bernard in Gravesville, AR where they married in 1941. She and Bernard raised three children, Greba Lee (Tarkington) Edwards, Roger Dale Tarkington and Charles Ray Tarkington. They moved to Little Rock, where she worked at the Timex manufacturing plant in Little Rock and was a 35-year veteran of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers. She retired in 1988. She was a hardworking and devoted employee, as well as being the same for her family and friends. Anyone at any time was welcome at Aunt Bernice's, Granny's and Momma's house. She was the neighbor everyone loved and the friend you could count on.

As a child growing up in Gravesville, Bernice attended the Salem Baptist Church, which her father helped build and where her grandfather was the pastor. In Little Rock, she attended Fairview Baptist Church until she moved to Illinois in 1993 to live with her son, Charles Tarkington. She continued to thrive and support her family with love ever since. Some of her most beloved pets were Mandy and Jasper. She found joy in gardening and riding the lawn mower to maintain three acres, wearing a hat and a big smile.

Bernice was an extraordinary person on all accounts. She spoke more plainly in the last decade, which kept us all on our toes. Laughter is good medicine and she provided us with plenty of it. It's not often you meet someone like Bernice and with that, we feel like we won the jackpot. Thank you to all at Poplar Grove for your care and support.

Left to cherish her life and memory are her children, Greba Lee Edwards and Charles Tarkington; grandchildren, Terry Edwards, Sherry Edwards Mankin, Roger Tarkington, Rhonda Tarkington Orr, Jaime Tarkington Norton and Charles (Chas) Tarkington II; great-grandchildren, Tabitha Mankin Whaley, Scott Edwards, Jessica Edwards, Amanda Edwards, Ava Norton and Vivian Norton and great-great-grandchildren, Jonathan Edwards, Sadie Rose Orr and Haven Whaley.

Graveside Services will be at Old Salem Cemetery, Salem Primitive Baptist Church, Gravesville, Arkansas on Thursday, July 10th at 11am.

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