William Gifford

Funeral services for William Kenneth “Kenny” Gifford, 79, Monticello, were Wednesday at Stephenson-Dearman Funeral Home in Monticello. Burial will follow in Sixteenth Section Cemetery, near Monticello.
Mr. Gifford died Sunday, March 8, 2009, at Baptist Medical Center in Little Rock.
He was born Aug. 20, 1929, in Ashley County, the son of Milton and Ruby White Gifford.
Mr. Gifford was a retired barber. He graduated from barber college in Kansas City, Kan. He owned his own shops in Lawrence, Kan., Oskaloosa, Kan., and Monticello for 30 years. He was also a pipe liner, a mason and a member of Oak Grove Free Will Baptist Church.
Survivors include his wife, Rachel Waites Gifford, Monticello; two sons, Steven Brett, Fort Smith, and Kenneth Bruce, Eudora, Kan.; one daughter, Linda Powell, Branson West, Mo.; three stepdaughters, Karen Donaldson, Fort Smith, Lisa Brantley, Bentonville, and Elaine Mitchell, Warren; his first wife and mother of his children, Shirley Ann Thornton; one grandchild; two great-grandchildren; 10 step-grandchildren; and 11 step-great-grandchildren.
He was preceded in death by a stepson, Danny Carpenter.