Herbert Skiles

Herb Skiles, son, father, grandfather, uncle, brother, repairman, jack of all trades, fisherman, pheasant hunter, friend, gardener, chef, bottle washer, decorator, golfer, traveler, man of many, many talents went to sleep March 8, 2021 and awaits the resurrection.

In his free time he was in his boat on a lake or a river somewhere in a fishing tournament. One highlight of his career was winning the title of Mr. Bass. He wore the prized ring with pride. His fish fries were a gourmet feast.

He and his hunting buddies drove the roads of South Dakota in search of pheasants. There are so many wild and crazy stories of weekends bunking with his buddies and playing cards.

Herb started his heating and air conditioning company in 1990. He could proudly boast of very, very few unsatisfied customers. He always quickly responded to every call and crept into hot attics or squeezed into smelly, tiny crawl spaces. He never wanted anyone to be stranded without heat or air. He solved different problems in his sleep and was up early with the solutions.

He loved his life family and friends and was always loyal and honest. Herb was a loving husband to Linda, his wife of seventeen years. They “went steady” in Cheyenne in high school but life took them on different paths for a few decades.

He loved planning road trips to visit new states and sites. He planned for months and when the time was “right” he and Linda hopped in the truck and hit the back roads of America; listening to Blake Shelton, Toby Keith, Reba, and all of his favorite songsters. What adventures!  In his travels, he managed to visit 47 states; too bad there is not yet a highway to Hawaii.

He visited his mom, Louise, weekly to maintain her yard and house and to enjoy hearing family history, which he loved.

Brother Dale and his wife, Ruth, of Maumelle tell tall tales of family gatherings. Dale has great memories of being the little brother tagging along with Herb and the “big boys” hunting rabbits and prairie dogs on the Wyoming back roads.

Younger brother, Gary, his wife, Janice, and their daughter Deanna, live in Fort Collins, Colorado. Herb always looked forward to cooking big Christmas dinners and having them join the party.

Herb was an amazing, loving father to his daughter, Christal Dawn of Cabot, and son Herb Jr. of North Little Rock. He encouraged the kids to be independent, set high goals, and achieve them.

His love of cooking and gardening and being adventurous to try new foods impacted Christal. His caring spirit impacted her in her 36 years of nursing at each of the Little Rock hospitals.

Fishing, golfing and hunting were what the two Herbs loved to do together. Herb Jr. has many fun tales to tell of the “ones that got away” just like his dad. Herb Jr.’s wife, Holly, and his daughter, Brooke (University of Arkansas, Fayetteville) were the apples of his eye! He loved times spent with Brooke as she got older.

Linda’s son, Paul Mavrakos, added his wife, Terra and three kiddos, Alex, Madelyn, and Molly (now students at Auburn University) to his tribe.

Her daughter, Joy Litten moved from Maryland and added Nicholetta (Nikki), Summer (KK), Noah and Isaac to the family fold.

Younger daughter Kathleen Saul and her husband, Andrew, have remained in Maryland and blessed Herb with three more grandchildren, Caleb, Ailani and Elliott.

Herb’s friendly, fun loving, competitive, quirky personality and his big heart will be missed. Thank you for loving him and letting him into your life.

The family will scatter his ashes at his favorite fishing holes on his 75th birthday, March 28.

In lieu of flowers, please take a moment to remember the fun times you had with Herb…and smile…and thank God.

Visitation will from 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM, Thursday, March 11, 2021 at Smith-Sherwood Funeral Home (7700 Hwy 107).