Barbara “Clarise” Harris Carr

     Carr

Barbara “Clarise” Harris Carr passed away on March 1, 2025, in her dream home in Berryville, Arkansas, with her husband and daughters at her side.

Clarise was born at home in Newton Grove, North Carolina, on November 6, 1947, the fifth of six children born to Theodore and Myrtle Harris, who preceded her in death.

She grew up on a tobacco and cotton farm in the heart of Sampson County, North Carolina. She attended grade school at Westbrook, a nearby school, until it burned. Clarise graduated in 1966 from Hobbton High School, where not only did she have perfect attendance for 12 years of school, she was also a school bus driver her Senior year. While she had many achievements during her high school years, her greatest achievement was graduating as class Valedictorian, which she was incredibly proud of and loved to tease her children about this. She would often remind them they could have followed in her footsteps “had they only picked a little more cotton.”

She completed college in just three years, graduating Summa Cum Laude, third in her class, from Campbell University, Buies Creek, North Carolina, with a Bachelor of Science degree in Education, and was a member of the Epsilon Pi Eta Sorority.

Clarise decided to finish her college career in 1994 at the University of Arkansas, where she received her Masters of Adult Education and graduated with a 4.0 GPA.

She taught First Grade in Berryville from 1969-1979, when she then switched to teaching Kindergarten from 1979-1998. After retiring from Berryville schools, Clarise went on to teach in Shell Knob, Missouri, for 20 more years, as a Title 1 math specialist, Middle School math teacher, and the Gifted & Talented Coordinator. After retiring as a teacher in Missouri, she once again went on to teach 2 more years as an ESL instructor at Tyson Foods with Berryville/Northark. With a grand total of 51 years of teaching, she received too many professional acknowledgements and special awards to list.

Clarise had also started work at Walmart in Berryville in June 1995. She began her side career as a part-time jewelry associate, later becoming a full-time associate and working her way to Front-End Team Lead. She absolutely loved working at Walmart every day of her second career that spanned 29 years, 8 months and 8 days.

Clarise was a faithful and active member of Freeman Heights Baptist Church and taught Sunday School for over 40 years.

She met her husband, Jimmy Carr while he was serving in the Air Force and stationed at Pope Air Force Base near her home in North Carolina. They married January 28, 1968. After he completed his tour of duty in Vietnam and she graduated from college, they moved to his family farm north of Berryville, where they operated a dairy farm for many years.

They were blessed with 3 children and 4 grandchildren who lovingly referred to her as Nana.

Clarise is survived by her husband of 57 years, James W. “Jimmy” Carr, Jr., of the home; daughter, Tanya Mc-Bryde and her husband Matthew; son, James W. Carr, III.; and daughter, Melony Parker, all of Berryville, Arkansas; as well as her “extra” sons, Nehemias Lopez and Noah Bourgeois and “extra” daughter, Melinda Gonzales. She is also survived by her sister-in-law, Laura Welch of Berryville, Arkansas and brother-in-law, Lewis Morris of Alpena, Arkansas; brother, Roy Harris and wife Connie; sister, Judy Barbour; and sister- in-law, Sallie Harris all of North Carolina. She is also survived by many nieces, nephews, great-nieces and nephews, all of whom she loved very much. Most importantly, she is survived by her greatest loves, her grandchildren: Marcus Dorsey and wife Jacqueline, Mattie Fultz, J.J. Parker and Emmy Parker, all of Berryville, Arkansas, along with her bonus grandchildren of many years, Johnathon Nelson, Brett Nelson and Ryan Nelson, all of Huntsville, Arkansas. She was the best Nana any grandchild could ask for.

She was preceded in death by her brother, Woody Harris of Virginia; brother and sister-in-law, Wendell and Edna Harris of North Carolina; sister and brother-in-law, Edna and Dewey Thornton; nephews, DeWitt Thornton and Ricky Thornton all of North Carolina. She was also preceded in death by her sisters- in-law, Jonnie Morris of Alpena, Arkansas and Rose Doty of Berryville, Arkansas; sister-in-law, Roma Lee and husband Mert Mertens of Fort Smith, Arkansas; and sister-in-law, Paula June and husband Gaines Eugene Hampton of Berryville, Arkansas. She was also preceded in death by a granddaughter born straight into the arms of Jesus.

Visitation will be Thursday, March 6th, from 4-7 p.m. at Nelson’s Chapel in Berryville. Funeral services will be Friday, March 7th, at 10 a.m. at Freeman Heights Baptist Church in Berryville, with interment to follow at High Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made in Clarise’s memory to Freeman Heights Baptist Church, 522 West Freeman Avenue, Berryville, Arkansas, 72616, or Arkansas Hospice Foundation, 14 Parkstone Circle, N Little Rock, AR 72116. Arrangements are under the direction of Nelsons Funeral Service. Online condolences may be sent to nelsonfuneral.com.

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