Willis Winn Findley Ii

Willis Winn Findley II, 78, died Saturday, August 11, 2007, at his home in Rison. Mr. Findley was born in Little Rock on January 5, 1929, to Willis Winn Findley, Sr. and Bessie Twila Findley. Throughout an eight year battle with prostate cancer, he was lovingly cared for by his wife of 58 years, Wanda Jean (Kissinger) Findley, whom he married on June 20, 1949.

Mr. Findley variously attended Little Rock Catholic High School and Subiaco Academy, which he considered to be a moveable feast, and he joined the United States Navy in 1946, serving a two year tour that included duty as an aircraft simulator operator and crash crew driver on Guam during the initial U.S. occupation of the Mariana Islands following World War II. Upon honorable discharge from the Navy as a Petty Officer, he was trained in public accountancy by his father. After working as an auditor for his fathers accounting firm, Mr. Findley later managed lumber companies in Louisiana and Arkansas, including Matthews Lumber Co. (Mansfield, LA), Anthony-Kervin Lumber Co. (Rison) and Rison Wood Products. At Anthony-Kervin Lumber Co, he installed the first computer in Cleveland County Arkansas in the late 1960s, considerably in advance of the PC revolution. Mr. Findley later went on to co-found Data Enterprises, Inc., which provided computer accounting services to many clients in Arkansas, Louisiana and Texas. He continued to work at these endeavors until the last six months of his life.

Mr. Findley was an accomplished horseman. As a young man, he competed in various rodeo events, including bareback riding, saddlebronc riding and bull riding. After he and Wanda started having children, he became a calf roper and rodeo judge. In the 1960s, he began to ride cutting horses, which he continued for as long as he was able to ride. Mr. Findley was several times nationally ranked as a Top Ten Non-Professional cutter by the National Cutting Horse Association, and he was frequently sought out as a judge for national competitions, including the NCHA Futurity.

Willis is survived by three sons (and their wives), Willis Winn Findley III (Elsa), Dr. Larry Lynn Findley (Anita) and Dr. Gary Lee Findley (Ann), eight grandchildren, nineteen great-grandchildren and a host of nephews and nieces. He was predeceased by his sister Patricia Findley, OSB, and is survived by two sisters, Arlene Loomis (husband Bob) and Twila Scott, and by his brother Barry Findley (wife Betty). His nephews Dr. Barre Finan and Dr. Michael Finan were always available to him for medical care as he grew older, and Dr. Barre Finan was his principal physician throughout his bout with prostrate cancer.

Funeral arrangements are by Buie Funeral Home of Rison (online guest register at buiefuneralhome.com). There will be a Rosary and visitation on Monday, August 13, from 7:00 9:00 p.m. at Buie Funeral Home. A requiem mass will be held at the Good Shepherd Catholic Church in Fordyce on Tuesday, August 14, at 10:00 a.m., followed by interment at Greenwood Cemetery in Rison.