Benjamin Harrison Utley died of heart failure on June 15, 1963, at Fayetteville. He was 74. Utley was born Oct. 14, 1888, to Green and Rhoda Utley at Clarksville, Ark. He moved to Fayetteville sometime during the 1930s.
He was survived by his wife, Jessie Reaves Utley, whom he married on Dec. 10, 1922 at Van Buren; two sisters, Lela Nance and Clara Rainey, both of Fort Smith, and two nephews.
His sister Nellie preceded him in death.
His father was a farmer, and the family worked for the Johnson County Poor Farm at Spadra when Utley was 11 years old. He also worked as a farmer as a young man. The Utleys moved to Fort Smith sometime in the 1930s and then to Fayetteville by 1940. They lived at 201 S. Willow Avenue.
Utley was a member of St. James Baptist Church and the Hill City Masonic Lodge. He worked as cook for the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity at the University of Arkansas through the 1940s and 1950s, when the house was on Dickson Street.
Obituaries
Benjamin Harrison Utley, 74, a resident of 200 S. Willow died Saturday afternoon at his home. Born Oct. 14, 1888 at Clarksville, son of Green and Rhoda Utley, he was a retired cook and had lived in Fayetteville for the past 20 years. He was a member of the St. James Baptist Church and Hill City Masonic Lodge.
Survivors are the widow, Jessie Reaves Utley, whome he married Dec. 10, 1922 in Van Buren; two sisters, Mrs. Lela Nance and Mrs. Clara Rainey, both of Fort Smith, and two nephews.
Funeral arrangements will be announced by Nelson’s Funeral Home.
— Northwest Arkansas Times, June 17, 1963, page 7.
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (Special) — Funeral service for Benjamin Harrison Utley will be held at 2 p.m. Wednesday at St. James Baptist Church. The Rev. M.G. Edmondson will officiate. Burial will be at Oak Cemetery under the direction of Nelson’s Funeral Home.
—Southwest American, June 18, 1963, page 5.