Carrol Janis Hinkle Howard, 86, of Prairie Grove, Arkansas was a devoted Christian of the Catholic Church, a journalist, a lyricist, an activist for life and peace, and, above all else, a dedicated mother. She passed away on March 18, 2025, after a lengthy illness, at Prairie Grove Health & Rehab, in Prairie Grove. She was born on September 16, 1938, in Bell City, Missouri to Charles M. and Prattie A. Hinkle, both of whom preceded her in death. Her husband of 35 years, Kenneth J. Howard, Sr., also preceded her in death.
Carrol graduated from Roxana Senior High School, Roxana, Ill., in 1956 and attended the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. An accomplished journalist, she served as society page editor for the Alton Telegraph in the late 1950s and as a columnist and special features editor for the North Little Rock Times in the late 1970s and early 1980s.
Carrol was also a lyricist who collaborated with her lifelong best friend, Elizabeth Wisnasky, authoring more than two dozen songs. Determined to live beyond disabilities and barriers, Carrol was active as a self-help advocate for those facing mental and emotional disorders. She was a volunteer leader for many years with Recovery, International, a mental health organization based on cognitive-behavioral, peer-to-peer, self-help principles.
Carrol also embraced a passion for life, justice, and peace. She was an active volunteer for Peace Links, a women's volunteer movement that worked for a safer world. Carrol lived out her faith and commitment to life by volunteering through Catholic Charities of Arkansas as an infant foster care provider in the 1980s.
Her devotion as a loving mother to her five children has been her life's greatest work.
Carrol is survived by four children: Kenneth Howard, Jr., of Eureka Springs, Ark.; Mary Howard of Little Rock, Ark.; James Howard of Webster Groves, Mo., and Carol Morris of Farmington, Ark, as well as seven grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren. In addition to her parents and her husband, Carrol is preceded in death by her son, Michael Howard, and by her sister, Mary Hinkle Meyer.
Graveside services will be Wednesday, March 26, 2025, at 10 am, at Rose Lawn Memory Gardens in Bethalto, Ill. Father Tom Liebler will officiate.
Honorary pallbearers include Jameson Howard, Nicholas Scoles, River Morris, and Gregory Morris.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions, in Carrol's memory, may be made to Recovery, International; Hesychia House of Prayer; or, St. Joseph's Indian School.
Online condolences and guestbook may be found at www.eliaskallalandschaaf.com.
