Kathleen Arrington Deason

 Kathleen Arrington Deason, 95 of Smiths Station Alabama passed away on Sunday November 29, 2015 at Midtown Medical Center in Columbus, Georgia.

A going home service and celebration of her life will be held at 2:00 p.m. EST on Wednesday December 2, 2015 at Golden Acres Baptist Church in Phenix City, Alabama with Dr. Ray Cummings officiating.  Interment will follow at Lakeview Memory Gardens.  The family will receive friends on Tuesday evening from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. EST at Vance Funeral Home, Phenix City, Alabama.

Kathleen was born on August 11, 1920 in Perote, Alabama, daughter of the late Aaron Wiley Arrington and Martha Susan Augusta “Gussie” Cole.  She graduated from Perote High School where she also played on the varsity girls’ basketball team.  She married the late James Clifford “Click” Deason, also of Perote, Alabama, in 1938.  They moved to Apalachicola, Florida where they began a shrimping business.  They had two children, James “Ralph” Deason and the late Charles “Gary” Deason before moving back to Alabama in 1953 and settling on a farm in Smiths Station.  Kathleen and her husband had a passion for their Lord and Savior and hosted weekly prayer meetings in their home.  At one of their prayer meetings, they were convicted to begin a new church and in 1970 Midway Baptist Church in Smiths Station was organized.  Upon the passing of her husband in 1976, Kathleen began attending her mother’s church home at Golden Acres Baptist Church, where she was an active member for more than 35 years.  She worked for J.A. Kirven Company – Kirven’s Department Store in Downtown Columbus, Georgia for several years before beginning a long employment at Sungas in Phenix City, Alabama.  After retiring from Sungas, her passion for work and her love for people led her to begin a second career with the Lee County School System.  After retiring in 1989, she devoted herself full time to her church and family. 

Other than her parents, husband, and one son, Kathleen was preceded in death by two sisters, Irene Arrington and Myrtice Arrington Culpepper; three brothers, John Arrington, Otis Arrington and Spurgeon Arrington.  She is survived by two brothers Ray Arrington of Union Springs, Alabama and RC Arrington (Jeanette) of Tallahassee, Florida.  In addition to her son James “Ralph” of Smiths Station, she is survived by two grandchildren, Dara Deason Hendley (Jeff) and James Andrew “Drew” Deason (Lisa) of Smiths Station; five great grandchildren, Marlena Williams, Tonya Williams and Ana Hendley of Blakely, Georgia, Jeffery “Caleb” Yon and James “Hunter” Deason of Smiths Station; two great great grandchildren, Lydia Williams and Connor Fulton of Blakely, Georgia and one daughter in-law Mary Rebecca Bessant Deason of Columbus, Georgia.  She also leaves behind many nieces, nephews and friends.

Kathleen spent the last one and a half years as a resident of Phenix City Healthcare where she also, for many years, spent her Sunday afternoons visiting with the staff and residents.  The family wishes to thank the staff for their love of Kathleen and the excellent care provided to her.  A special thank you is also extended to her former care-giver, Ms. Roby Hill of Salem, Alabama.