Juanita Warden

Juanita Veatch Warden, age 95 died in Little Rock, Arkansas, on August 20, 2012, after a brief illness. Mrs. Warden was born in Carmi, Illinois, on June 24, 1917, daughter of Irene and Walter Veatch. On December 15, 1940, she married Walter Walt Warden, who survives her and with whom she lived in love and happiness for over 71 years. The couple began their married life in New Harmony, Indiana. During the years of World War II, Walt worked as a petroleum engineer for Baroid Drilling, a subsidiary of Halliburton, first in Indiana then in Oklahoma and Wyoming. Following the war, they settled in Cairo, Illinois, where they raised their children, John, now of New York City, and Nancy, now Nancy Mathews, of Little Rock. Walt ran a Ford dealership in Cairo until the couple moved to Little Rock in 1965, when he opened Warden Volkswagen on the New Benton Highway. He later added BMW, Subaru and Isuzu and changed the name to Warden Motors. In Little Rock, Juanita and Walt enjoyed many new and fast friendships, particularly with Doris and Ledger Parker when Ledger became the Cadillac dealer there. Over succeeding years, starting in about 1970, they began spending time in Naples, Florida, drawn there initially by their oldest friends, Frank and Beverly Pipe of St. Louis. They moved to Naples full time in 1994, when Walt retired, but returned to live with and be cared for by Nancy and her husband, Terry, in Little Rock three years ago. In addition to Walt, John and his wife, Phillis, and Nancy and Terry, Mrs. Warden is survived by 6 grandchildren: Anne Clark Blair, John Warden Haleh, Carson Warden Alejandra, Eric Mathews, Grant Mathews Rebecca, and David Mathews. She was also blessed with 8 great grandchildren: Grace and Sawyer Clark, Ariana and Karenna Warden, Clara and Justin Warden, and Kohler and Savannah Mathews. She was known to all of them and their friends as Moms. They all adored her and often asked for her sage advice. All four generations of her family, who were privileged to have her love and support for seven decades, give thanks for her wonderful life and will miss her greatly. A memorial service will be held at the Moorings Presbyterian Church in Naples, Florida this coming winter. Memorial donations may be made to Hospice Home Care, 2200 South Bowman, Little Rock, AR 72211

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