of Batesville, AR

November 6, 1955 - May 3, 2025

Gean Stalcup, 69, of Batesville, Arkansas, passed away on May 3, 2025. Per his wishes, he was cremated on May 9, 2025. Gean was a member of the Quail Valley Church of Christ. A private celebration of life will be held at a date and time to be determined.

Gean Brand Stalcup was born in Blytheville, Arkansas, on November 6, 1955, to parents Charley and Maxine Stalcup. The youngest of four children, Gean could be a bit of a handful. So much so that the family almost gave up on having Christmas trees each year because he would always climb and topple them over. Rather than sleep in his bed, he was often found sleeping in random areas of the house, and he didn't eat at regular mealtimes.

While in school, Gean participated in 4H, Boy Scouts, and football. He met his future wife, Janice, at the gas station where he worked. He was 16 at the time, but he told Janice he was 17, and she believed him because he had a mustache and a car. Before their first date, he pulled his mother aside and told her this was the girl he was going to marry. When they eventually did get married, they spent their savings to buy and remodel Gean's childhood home and had $50 left over for their honeymoon in Memphis. Gean and Janice were married until his passing. They had just recently celebrated their 47th wedding anniversary.

Gean was always a hard worker. At age 2, he had a money jar that he would use to collect money from guests when they would visit the house. It worked, so he kept doing it! At age 9, he began driving himself to his job at the family gas station, while barely being able to see over the steering wheel of his mother's 1963 Chevrolet. To bystanders, it looked like the car was driving itself, but most people, including the sheriff, knew it was just Gean.

As a teenager, he worked as an electrician and a plumber in the family business before getting his start in manufacturing as a tool and die maker at a small shop in Blytheville. He worked day and night and studied, in secret, in his spare time to obtain his engineering degree from ASU Jonesboro. A few years later, he was recruited for a job as a Plant Manager at ITW Paslode, in Pontotoc, Mississippi.

During his time ITW, Gean was involved in designing the first Paslode Impulse cordless fuel cell-operated framing nailer, and even gave permission for it to be used in a scene with Mel Gibson and Danny Glover in the movie Lethal Weapon 2. He was also responsible for bringing an ITW facility to Augusta, Arkansas.

Gean left ITW to become Vice President of a large aerospace corporation. While there, he worked directly with the military and NASA on confidential weapons and space programs. After negotiating the sale of that company, he went on to build a successful consulting business as a turnaround professional.

Gean was ultimately hired full-time by one of his clients to lead the largest turnaround of his career - taking a business that was losing a significant amount of money each month and transforming it into a vertically-integrated conglomerate of manufacturing companies serving the oil & gas, aerospace,aviation, power generation, petrochemical, transportation, and mining industries. He then spearheaded the sale of that company as CEO and transitioned into ''semi-retirement''.

Truly a jack-of-all trades, Gean was just as comfortable climbing into a machine to repair it as he was being the CEO in a room full of investors. He was spotted several times, as Chief Operating Officer, heading out into the various machine and forge shops to work on tooling for a complex part or make an improvised repair on a CNC machine. He never asked anyone to do something he wouldn't be willing to do himself.

Gean was an avid scuba diver and he and his son held eight certifications including Rescue Diver, Wreck Diver, Deep Diver, and Aquanaut. Above the water, but below the ground, he was a lifelong spelunker having explored many of the caves in Stone and Izard counties with his family. He had a great love for the outdoors, but he was never happier than when he was spending time with his two grandsons.

His fondest memories were of running up and down the halls of his house while pushing ''the boys'' in their Cozy Coupe, swimming, playing with giant Legos, playing basketball, throwing things in the house, and going to the creek. The three of them would laugh and yell so loud it was impossible to carry on a conversation near them while they were playing. Gean cherished every second of it.

Though he is no longer with us physically, Gean's memory and influence will live on through his wife, Janice Stalcup; his son Jonathan Stalcup and wife Kayla; his two grandsons Jon and Ryan Stalcup; his two sisters Betsy Crispell, and Nancy Ivey and husband Butch; his brother David Stalcup and wife Lou; his mother-in-law Mary Graham; his two sisters-in-law Becky Nowlin and husband Van, and Susie Bentley and husband Kevin; his brother-in-law Ronnie Graham and wife Angie; and his many nieces, nephews, and other extended family, friends, and colleagues.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Charley and Maxine Stalcup; his half-brother Charley Stalcup Jr.; his father-in-law, Parvin Graham; and his aunt, Ernestine Mahan Owen.

Gean was a loving husband, wonderful father, and a proud papa. We will love and miss him, always.

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