Robert E. Sparks' Obituary
Robert E. Sparks, age 92 of Fayetteville (formerly of Little Rock) passed peacefully to his Heavenly home on August 26, 2023
He is survived by his daughter Sharon Davis (Jean), grandsons Corey R. Runnells (Sheryl) and Joshua Aaron (Kelly), five great grandchildren, and many nieces and nephews.
He is preceded in death by his wife, Jo Ruth Sparks, father, Frank E. Sparks, mother, Trella I. Sparks, sons Frank E. (Rusty) Sparks and Robert Sparks, Jr., and grandson, Christopher Runnells.
Robert was born in Little Rock, AR on August 13, 1931. He spent most of his life in Little Rock where he married, raised three children and was an active member of his local church family. He went to work for the Rock Island Railroad and ultimately retired as an engineer with the Union Pacific Railroad in 1993. He was an avid outdoorsman and loved to hunt and fish, a trait he passed on to his grandsons. He was a very accomplished gardener and grew more tomatoes than most people could eat in a lifetime. He was always very generous with his homegrown produce. He was a hard worker who found a love for auctions after his retirement. He spent most weekends buying old tools and refurbishing them for resale. He joked that had he resold tools his entire life, he would have been a millionaire many times over. He was a strong man and was very outgoing. He spent his final years in Fayetteville, AR where he was close to his daughter and grandson. He loved watching old westerns and never missed an episode of Jeopardy. He was an aspiring cowboy until his last day.
A memorial service will be held Saturday, September 2 at 1:00 PM at Pinecrest Memorial Park in Alexander, AR.
In lieu of flowers, the family asks that memorials be made to St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital.
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