Lathan Bernard "Bernie" Daniels' Obituary
With hearts full of gratitude and sorrow, we announce the passing of our beloved husband, father, grandfather, great-grandfather, mentor, and friend, Lathan Bernard “Bernie” Daniels, on July 13, 2026, at the age of 85. A man of extraordinary integrity, strength, and grace, he lived his life as a prayer—offering kindness, respect, and love to all he encountered.
From humble beginnings on his family's farm in Fordyce, Arkansas, Bernie built a life centered on faith, family, and agriculture. Born to Hezekiah and Annie Daniels on August 28, 1940, he learned to love and respect the land, inheriting his parents' gift for cultivating abundant gardens—a passion he continued throughout his life until Parkinson's disease no longer allowed him to work the soil he loved.
Bernie graduated from Thornton High School in 1958. He attended Southern Arkansas University before transferring to the University of Arkansas, where he earned a Bachelor of Science in Animal Nutrition (1962) and a Master of Science in Animal Physiology (1963). After serving with the Cooperative Extension Service in Desha and Little River counties, he completed his Ph.D. at the University of Missouri–Columbia in 1969.
He joined the University of Arkansas Department of Animal Science faculty in 1969, rising to Professor in 1979. He later served as Associate Director of the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station and as Interim Associate Vice President for Agriculture–Research and Interim Dean of the College of Agriculture. Even after completing his administrative service, Bernie happily returned to the faculty to pursue one final research project.
Throughout his distinguished career, Bernie helped secure funding for and establish several landmark research and education centers, including the Food Safety Consortium, the Poultry Center of Excellence, the Rosen Center, the Institute of Food Science and Engineering, the Center for Advanced Spatial Technologies, the USDA-ARS Rice Germplasm Center at Stuttgart, and the Pauline Whitaker Animal Science Center. He also provided leadership to numerous regional and national agricultural organizations, such as the Rural Policy Research Institute, the American Agricultural Research Institute, and the Agri Center International, helping shape agricultural research and policy across the country.
If asked, however, Bernie would have said his greatest accomplishment was never a building, a title, or an award. It was the people. He taught more than 5,000 undergraduate students, served as major advisor to 44 graduate students, and mentored another 66 graduate students who sought his wisdom as a member of their graduate committees. His influence lives on in the thousands of students, colleagues, and friends whose lives he touched. In recognition of his extraordinary contributions to agriculture, education, and public service, Bernie was inducted into the Arkansas Agriculture Hall of Fame as a member of Class XXXII.
As proud as Bernie was of his professional accomplishments, they never defined him. His greatest joy was always his family. He believed that faith came first, family was life's greatest blessing, and love was something to be shown every day through service, generosity, patience, and unwavering devotion.
While attending the University of Arkansas, Bernie met the love of his life, Jean Ann Golden. They married in 1963 at the United Methodist Wesley Chapel on campus and began a partnership that would span more than six decades. Together they built a home filled with faith, laughter, hard work, and unconditional love. Their son, Michael, was born in 1964, followed by their daughter, Michelle, in 1966. Their youngest daughter, Melissa, completed the family when she was born in 1974. Both Jeanie and Bernie were tickled beyond measure when all three of their children chose to follow in their father’s footsteps and earn their doctorates.
If Bernie treasured being a husband and father, becoming "Papa" revealed an even greater capacity for love. His grandsons—Brannon, Bryce, Brock, and Lathan—were among his greatest blessings. Whether teaching them to fish, tend a garden, solve a problem, or simply enjoy time together, he quietly demonstrated that humility, faith, kindness, and service are life's greatest measures of success. He celebrated every one of their accomplishments with genuine pride and never missed an opportunity to tell others about the remarkable young men they had become.
That same joy multiplied with the arrival of his great-grandchildren, Canyon and Juniper, who delighted him beyond measure. He eagerly anticipated welcoming another great-grandchild this October, knowing that the legacy of love he and Jeanie had built would continue through another generation.
Bernie is survived by his devoted wife of 63 years, Jeanie; his children, Michael Daniels and his wife, Tricia, Michelle Daniels, and Melissa Pearce and her husband, Ricky. He is also survived by his beloved grandchildren: Brannon Daniels and his wife, Summer, and their children, Canyon and Juniper; Bryce Daniels and his wife, Leah, who are expecting their first child; Brock Daniels and his wife, Sarah; and Lathan Pearce. He also leaves behind his brother, Gene Daniels and his wife, Sue; his sister-in-law, Ann; his brother-in-law, Jerry Golden; many cherished nieces and nephews; and the adopted family he found among the caregivers and residents of the Health Center at Butterfield Trail Village, whose compassion and friendship brought him great comfort.
He was preceded in death by his parents, Hezekiah and Annie Daniels; his brothers, Dalton and Allen Daniels; his sister, Odessia Ethridge; and his in-laws, Frank and Inez Golden, Jim and Billie Golden, Betty and Ralph Parks, Jack and Pat Harrington, and Lana Kay Golden.
A memorial service celebrating Bernie's life will be held at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, July 18, at Butterfield Trail Village Performance Hall.
In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts may be made to the Butterfield Trail Village Foundation or the Parkinson's Foundation.
Bernie's legacy is found not only in the institutions he helped build, but in the lives he nurtured, the students he inspired, the family he cherished, and the quiet example of faith, humility, and love that he leaves with all who knew him.
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