Anita Lynn Sampley shuffled off this mortal coil on March 27, 2026, in Fayetteville. Born on July 16, 1948, in Forrest City, Arkansas, she was the daughter of the late Juanita Cox Sampley and R. Leonard Sampley.
Proudly a Southern girl, she was raised and reared in Forrest City, Ark., graduating from high school there in 1966. She went on to attend Arkansas State and the University of Central Arkansas, eventually earning degrees in education and library science. Her career as an educator started in Palestine, Ark., then Forrest City. In 1992 she made the bold step to move up to the hills of the Ozarks, where she worked in the Rogers, Springdale, Pea Ridge, and Bentonville school districts. One of her proudest achievements was creating a mother-daughter book club, The Sugar Babies. It received grant funding and was featured in the Arkansas library journal.
Upon retirement, Anita led an active volunteer life. She was active with Walton Arts Center, the Farmington Library Board, Bikes, Blues & BBQ, and served as the president of the Washington Regional Auxiliary, following in her mother’s footsteps who did the same in Forrest City. She was also an avid traveler, taking many cruises, sister trips, and bus trips with the Springdale Senior Center and others.
Preceding her in death were here mother and father, Juanita and Leonard Sampley of Forrest City.
Anita is survived by her one and only child, Jeremy Hodges of Fayetteville, and his spouse, April Rusch; sisters Debbie Montgomery of Forrest City and Kaye Murry of North Little Rock, Ark.; three nephews and one niece who all thought she was cool and called her “Nini”; and two adoring grand-nieces who were the apples of her eye.
There will be a visitation at Stevens’ Funeral Home in Forrest City, Saturday, April 4, 2026, 10 a.m., followed by a graveside service, 11:30 a.m., at Forrest Park Cemetery. Afterwards, the family will gather at the home of Mark and Debbie Montgomery.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be directed to either the Association for Frontotemporal Degeneration (aftd.org) or the American Cancer Society (cancer.org). Stevens Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements. You may log on to stevensfuneralhome.net for the online registry.