Jaydine Arnold Morton

Jaydine Arnold Morton passed away July 3, 2026 at West Vue Nursing Home in West Plains, Missouri at the age of 94, following a long and full life. She was born in Chastain, Arkansas, on March 2, 1932 to Jay Arnold and Nancy Q. Rogers. She was raised in Guion, Arkansas and graduated from Mount Pleasant High School in 1950. On March 23, 1957 she married the love of her life, Larry Gene Morton, in Leslie, Missouri. Together they shared 62 years of marriage until his death in 2019. They built a life centered on home and family. She received her degree in education from Arkansas State Teachers College in Conway. In her early career years, she changed schools often, teaching in Newport, Arkansas; and Linn, New Franklin, New Bloomfield, and Pacific, Missouri. From 1968 until her retirement in 1994, she lived and taught in O’Fallon, Missouri, except for one year in Jefferson City. In retirement, she returned to her Guion home where she wrote the Guion news for local papers, attended the quilting club gatherings, was an editor for the Izard County Historian, and did fundraising for the Campbell Cemetery and helped to get it recognized as a 501c3 non-profit. Beyond her professional life, she had a deep passion for the simple joys. She loved antiques, lap dogs and flowers of all kinds. She once enjoyed making new dresses for and repairing battered dolls, as well as collecting new ones. Much like her own mother, Jaydine was the quiet curator of our family’s memories. She carefully preserved every card and handwritten letter she received, honoring the family legacy by passing these treasures into the hands of the family historian, she raised, ensuring the voices of the past remain heard. Perhaps what she looked forward to most were the regular reunions with her extended family and high school classmates, and the visits from her many friends. Jaydine was a woman of quiet strength, rising from an impoverished childhood and conquering many health challenges along the way.

She is survived by her children, LaMyra Morton of Fair Grove, Missouri and Larry Morton of Jonesboro, Arkansas; her sister-in-law, Jane Arnold of El Paso, Texas; and many nieces and nephews; of the 35 grandchildren of Lucy and Alec Arnold, only 3 remain, Anna Kemp, Greta Wilson and Cindy Nelson.

She was preceded in death by her beloved husband, Larry; her parents; and her siblings, Jay G. Arnold, Geneva Rodman, Beverly Hurst, Jackie Hunt, Rogers Arnold and VaRue Guthrie. She was the last surviving and longest-lived member of her birth family. She also outlived nephews, Sherman Black, Jay Black and niece, Denise Arnold Simpson, a great-niece, Ashley Black Kanta, and all her Rogers cousins.

The family wishes to extend a special thank you to her neighbors, Naomi and Kristine, for their attentiveness when family wasn’t always able to be around; also to Meghan and Zachary of West Vue for kindnesses shown.

A memorial service will be held at a later date under the direction of Qualls Funeral Homes. A friends and family gathering will follow. She will rest by her husband in the Campbell Cemetery in Guion.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to I-Care (Izard Co. Animal Rescue Effort), P. O. Box 1062, Melbourne, AR 72556 or to the Campbell Cemetery Fund, P. O. Box 03, Guion, AR 72540.