Emmitt Healey

Emmitt Paul Healey died April 27th, 2016. Things I learned from Dad
1. Love family unreservedly.
Dad was the middle child of seven, born August 11, 1925. His parents were Emmitt Earl Healey and "Ivy" Spivey Healey. He learned early that family must support each other in order to survive and thrive in Sedgwick, Arkansas during the depression. His love of nature had its birth in those tough times. Hunting, fishing, and gardening were both necessities and entertainment.

2. Value and nurture friendships.
The friends Dad made as a child remained life-long friends. They tromped the deer woods well into Dad's eighties. Getting a deer was just a bonus. One friend recently said, "I never had more fun with anyone in my life as I did with Paul Healey." Dad gave time, effort, and caring to his friendships.

3. Smart trumps education. Smart plus education is the winning hand.
Even though Dad was not formally educated, he was one of the smartest men I know. He left school after the 9th grade to help support his family. He was in the navy at 17 in WWII, was a sharecropper, and was a member of the Army National Guard, retiring as the Supervisor at OMS6 at Camp Robinson. When sent to electrical systems school he was worried, because his formal math training ended in the ninth grade. He was one of the most successful students in the class. He discovered there was one student with an engineering degree. That person became his study partner. Smart trumps education.

4. Empathy and humor resolves more issues than force.
Dad listened carefully when people talked. He listened for their passion and could work with that to resolve issues. He was a mentor to many young soldiers in the National Guard. He was the ultimate story teller, delivering his point with humor.

5. Give everything you have. Don't hold back.
You shortchange yourself if you do. You may not always succeed, but your regrets will be easier to live with if you feel you have given your best effort. Dad was married twice: first to Joyce Myers in 1945, resulting in 4 children, 9 Grandchildren, and numerous great-grandchildren; and to Patsy Scroggins Payne in 2012, resulting in Dad welcoming Patsy's family into his heart. He gained additional children, grandchildren and great grandchildren.

Dad was a man who had much to offer and freely gave. He will be sorely missed, but never forgotten.

Graveside funeral services will be held Monday, May 2nd, 2016 at Old Military Cemetery in Sedgwick, AR. Family will receive friends from 5:00-7:00 p.m. Saturday, April 30 at Smith North Little Rock Funeral Home and from 2:00-3:00 p.m. Monday at the gravesite prior to services. Online guest register: www.SmithFamilyCares.com