Roger Grant Stout

Mark Twain cautioned us, “Never let the truth stand in the way of a good story” and truer words were never spoken when it came to Roger G. Stout…and Roger loved to stretch the truth to the limit.  But while the truth, and his golf game, may not have been his strongest suit in life, he excelled in so many other ways. He was a brilliantly gifted storyteller. A lover of dirty, crude, and wildly inappropriate jokes that aided and abetted his wicked sense of humor. Every person in the world, to him, was someone new to befriend and tell a joke to, but there was a 100%  guarantee that he would never remember their name. We pity the person who would dare to challenge his smooth dance moves or music, sports and movie trivia, particularly when it came to his beloved Planes, Trains, and Automobiles.  

He was a master negotiator in business, despite being lousy with a checkbook. A dreamer who held a deep admiration for our nation’s veterans, whom he exalted as the ultimate heroes in this world. He took pride in his appearance and never hated it when a lady appreciated his effort. He was a fool in life and a complete clown. Which lends itself perfectly to his work with the McDonald’s franchise as THE Ronald McDonald of Arkansas throughout the 1980’s. He was forever the Ad man who firmly stated from his hospital bed, just weeks ago, “it sounds like hospice needs a new marketing campaign”.

Standing proud at six foot seven, he commanded the room. He was a massive man who lived a big, beautiful, messy life filled with success, failure, adventure, hard learned lessons and so much laughter. He held a heart so big and full of love for his family that the world tilted in his honor at 3:35 am, Monday, November 7th at 77 years old. 

In the brilliant experience that is the movie Big Fish, Edward Bloom said, “Remembering a man’s stories makes him immortal.” Our promise to you Daddy will be to never stop telling your stories-true or not- and keep ‘em all laughing for as long as we live. 

Roger was born in St. Louis, MO, on March 27, 1945, to the late George Franklin and Verna Vadalia Stout. He is survived by his daughters, Annemarie McGahagan (Michael), Angie Stout, and Kacky Fuller (JR); sister, Sue Harris (Bill) of Schlanger, AZ; sister-in-law, Corky Pollard of MO; grandchildren, Savannah Bell, Parker McGahagan, Samantha and Hatcher Fuller; and many nieces, nephews, family, and friends. He is predeceased by his brother, Dean Pollard; sister, Patsy Bergdorf; brother-in-laws, Larry D. Harris, and Al Bergdorf.

Words cannot express the gratitude we have for the 6Echo team of angels in the Palliative Care unit at the John L. McClellan Memorial Veterans Hospital. They are true heroes, serving heroes, as they receive their final promotion.

A memorial service will be held at a later date. In lieu of flowers, his daughters request that donations be made to Wolfe Street Foundation, Inc. PO Box 3708 Little Rock, AR 72203, or wolfstreet.org.