Melanie Bingenheimer

Melanie Bingenheimer was born December 1st, 1954, in Farmington, MO. She was the daughter of George and Alma (Tinnin) Gedge. She peacefully passed away on Thursday, May 11, 2023, in Little Rock, AR.
She was an honor student and a cheerleader at Farmington High School where she grew up. She attended Mineral Area Community College as a beginning to her nursing career.
She met her husband, Richard, in 1973 and they married in 1974. They moved several times over the next couple of years because of his job with Walmart. In October 1975, they had their first child, Christie, and then in August 1978, they had their second child, Jeff. They finally were able to settle in Little Rock in 1978 and Central Arkansas has been home ever since.
Melanie graduated from Baptist School of Nursing in the early 1980’s and became a Registered Nurse in the Baptist Health System in Labor and Delivery. She assisted in delivering 1000s of babies over the years and held various positions as a nurse and as a nursing manager. In 1994, she helped open the St. Vincent Infirmary labor and delivery unit as the Unit Manager. She continued there until she retired in 2014.
She was a certified instructor of intermediate fetal monitoring and was considered by many a subject matter expert in fetal monitoring. She loved and thrived in helping deliver babies. It was truly her passion and it showed in the number of awards that she won. She also served on the nurse/physician liaison committee from 1994-2012.
Her other passions were her children and grandchildren. She worked hard to be there for all of them over the years. Her favorite granddaughter was Abby. She really enjoyed spoiling her and her 3 grandsons (Carter, Jack and Ryan).
The St. Louis Cardinals were another passion for Melanie. She was a lifelong and eternal fan. She attended many Cardinals games. Her most favorite Cardinal memory (and there were many) was the day that Albert Pujols gave her a baseball during batting practice. She was also thrilled in meeting Mark McGwire, Jack Clark and Jack Buck.
She loved visiting with her family and friends in her final years. She really like visiting with June, her neighbor. They would visit for hours. She would always have a smile on her face when June left.
Her four-legged friends loved her. There were many throughout the years. She was known to them as “The Nibble Queen” and they were all major “tail-bangers” when she was around.
Melanie is preceded in death by her parents, George and Alma Gedge. She is survived by her husband of 49 years, Richard. She is also survived by her daughter, Christie, and her son, Carter Baldwin as well as her son, Jeff, his wife Ann, and their three children Abby (Justise), Jack and Ryan. Melanie also has her sisters, Beverly McGuire of Hotchkiss, CO and Kim Davis of Herculaneum, MO as well as several nieces, nephews, cousins and friends.
Melanie will be greatly missed by her family and friends and she made a difference while she was here on this Earth. Dementia is a very tough disease to endure. In lieu of flowers, please consider donating in Melanie’s name to the organization below:

Alzheimer’s Arkansas
www.alzark.org

Visitation will be 1:00-3:00 PM, Thursday, May 18, 2023 at Smith North Little Rock Funeral Home.