Mattie Lou Jameson's Obituary
Mattie Lou Jameson, 97, died August 14, 2010 in Fayetteville, Ark. She was born December 13, 1912 in Siloam Springs, Ark., one of eight children of Lewis D. Leflar, a Siloam Springs drayman, and Viva Pilkington Leflar. She graduated from Siloam Springs H.S. and the University of Arkansas, and taught mathematics and other subjects at Fayetteville H.S. and, during World War II, at the internment camp for Japanese-Americans at Rohwer, Ark. After the war, she worked in Little Rock as a psychological examiner for the Veterans Administration, where she met Alton E. (“Jamie”) Jameson, whom she married in 1950. They lived in Little Rock until Jamie’s death in 1997, after which she moved to Butterfield Trail Village in Fayetteville.
She was the last of her generation of the Leflar family. She was an accomplished gardener, a skilled poker and bridge player, a loyal Razorback fan, and a lifelong Democrat (in contrast to her father, who despaired that all eight of his children grew up to be Democrats). She is survived by her sister-in-law, Yvonne Bruner of Siloam Springs, and by numerous nieces and nephews. They remember her for her ascerbic wit, her insistence that truth be spoken and guises cast aside, and her breakfast egg casserole.
She was predeceased by her husband Jamie; by two sisters, May Osman of Enid, Okla. and Viva Marie Leflar of Honolulu; and by five brothers: Robert A., Fayetteville law teacher; Jim, Siloam Springs police chief, Yvonne’s husband; Lewis, Kansas City, Mo. printer and insurance executive; Alfred, Siloam Springs taxi service owner; and Eli, Rogers lawyer and state representative.
Memorials may be offered to the University of Arkansas scholarship fund, or to the Arkansas Democratic Party.
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