of Arkadelphia, AR
March 19, 1938 - February 17, 2026
Mary Lou Morrow was born in Pike City, Arkansas on March 19, 1938, to Robert Henry Morrow and Mary Etta Stuart Morrow. She was the third of five children.
The family moved to Little Rock, where she lived for most of her childhood. When she was a teenager, they moved back to south Arkansas, where she lived for the rest of her life.
Mary married Willis Leroy Nivens on November 3, 1956, and over the next eight years had four children. Her job was mother, wife, and homemaker. She loved her Job. It was hard work, but Mary was strong ... and determined.
Living in rural Arkansas, Mary and Leroy always had large gardens and with God's help, grew much of their own food. Mary canned and froze a significant part of the food that sustained them. When Leroy became too ill to continue his work as a truck driver, Mary and her family worked in commercial chicken houses to provide a living: 24/7/365. It was hard work, but Mary was strong ... and determined. When her children were old enough, and she saw an opportunity to better their lives, she went to work at a factory, and over the years worked her way up to the position of machinist. The work was hard and dirty, but Mary was strong ... and determined.
Her faith in God was strong, and her love for her family was always her joy.
Mary continued to be industrious in her retirement, becoming an avid and gifted quilter. Her vegetable and flower gardens continued to bring happiness to her and her family.
It's not as if Mary never had an adventure, in fact, she had many. For a time, after her children grew up and her husband passed away, she fell in with a merry and mischievous band of travelers (her beloved brother Tommy, his lovely wife Barbara and her partner-in-crime sister, Doris. They traveled the country and saw many wondrous things. (Concerning those occasions when they were a bit naughty, the statute of limitations had already expired.)
On February 17, 2026, at the age of 87 (almost 88), Mary began a new adventure.
The evangelist Billy Graham once said, "Someday you will read or hear that Billy Graham is dead. Don't you believe a word of it. I shall be more alive than I am now. I will just have changed my address. I will have gone into the presence of God."
So Mary has changed her address. Many of Mary's favorite people have preceded her into God's presence: her father and mother, Robert Henry and Mary Etta Morrow; her husband, Willis Leroy Nivens; brothers, Tommy Morrow; Robert Morrow and his wife Maria; and Larry Morrow and his wife Maria; Larry Morrow and his wife, Janie; sister, Doris Burke and her husband, Joe Burke.
She is survived by her sister-in-law Barbara Morrow (Tommy); her children, Bobby Nivens and wife Janice; Allen Nivens and his wife Barbara; Russell Nivens and his wife Lynette; Rebecca Nivens James and husband Tom; nine grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.
Mary's celebration of life will be at 12:00 a.m., Saturday, February 21, 2026, at Missionary Grove Baptist Church, 960 Nevada 37, Prescott, Arkansas. Visitation will be one hour prior to the service, beginning at 11:00am. Interment will follow at Bettye Nivens Memorial Cemetery, Blevins, Arkansas.