Gary Alton Harpole of Searcy, Arkansas, died on February 10, 2023, at St. Vincent Infirmary in Little Rock, with a worn-out, much-used heart.

Gary was born on November 11, 1950, in Ebenezer, Arkansas.  He was the youngest son of Louis and Orene Harpole. If you were to ask his sister, Linda, she would tell you he was a little bit spoiled and was always a mama's boy, but he turned out to be a pretty good guy.

Gary was preceded in death by his parents; two brothers, Wayne and Billy Harpole; one sister, Janice Kasper; and a long line of good dogs, Val, Dixie, and Bo.

He is survived by his wife, Jana, of the home he built in Joy, Arkansas; two daughters, Shannon (David) Cooan and Alyssa Pack of Searcy, Arkansas; one son, Jason (Allison) Harpole of Austin, Arkansas; eight grandchildren, Katie, Reese, and Jack Cooan, Caleb and Nathan Harpole, and Aubrey, Sarah, and Seth Pack; one great-grandson, Oliver Hill; one brother, Larry Harpole of Aubrey, Arkansas; one sister, Linda Faye Ashburn of Ebenezer, Arkansas; one sister-in-law, Lynda Jean Harpole of Ebenezer, Arkansas; two brothers-in-law, John Kasper of Meridian, Mississippi, and Bob Black (Anne) of Sherwood, Arkansas; and a host of nieces, nephews, extended family, and friends.

He was a self-employed carpenter for most of his life. After his son, Jason, opened his own construction company, he enjoyed sharing his knowledge and experience with his grandson, Caleb, while sitting in his lawn chair, supervising and directing. He loved to taunt him with "Did that hurt?" anytime he injured himself while working. They called him "The General" on the job site.

Gary was an avid hunter, an excellent fisherman, a bit of a homebody, a mentor to many, a Baptist, and a loving husband, daddy, and PawPaw. He enjoyed being outside and felt more comfortable in the woods than anywhere else.

He despised rice, sweet potatoes, garlic, wearing shorts, backed-up traffic, lengthy phone conversations, spicy foods, and being in large crowds.

Gary had many loves, too.  He loved his wife, Jana, more than anything else. The two met in high school in 1967 and were married on July 5, 1969. Her parents didn't really approve, but he fought to have her and won.  He also loved his children; Shannon, Jason & Alyssa. He took extreme pride in his eight grandchildren; Caleb, Katie, Nathan, Reese, Jack, Aubrey, Sarah, and Seth.

He also loved country cooking, the Razorbacks, taking afternoon naps in his recliner, hanging out with all "the boys" at the gun store, and his pretty dog, Nessa.  He even loved Jana's cats but would never admit it.  His fondness for Gunsmoke reruns was only surpassed by his love of eggs & bacon, fried deer meat, and the game show channel.

Gary was world-renowned for his lack of patience, not holding back his opinion, and having a knack for telling it like it was. He always told you the truth, even if it wasn't what you wanted to hear. He was generous to a fault and a little tender-hearted, yet he sugar-coated absolutely nothing.

He was known for his timeless words of wisdom, including "Cain't never could do nothing!", "I'm waiting for something big this year!", "You can do anything for thirty minutes!", "You ain't old enough to hurt!", "You need to eat more!", "Your Mama is always late!", "Hey kid!", and "You been killin' any?".   "You coming home tonight?" and "What are we goin' to fix to eat today?" were reserved for Jana, and he asked her those things all the time.  He typically asked her about eating before she'd even had her first cup of coffee.

Tremendous heartfelt thanks go to Misty and Lauren, who were genuinely compassionate and exceptional CCU nurses at St. Vincent Infirmary, as well as Mandy Yates, who provided a lot of comfort for the whole family by offering a sense of competence, peace, and acceptance during his transition from this life into the next.

A celebration of Gary's life will be held on Saturday, February 18, 2023, at noon.  Services will be held at Morgan Funeral Home in Forrest City, Arkansas.  Since Gary never liked caves or tunnels, he requested cremation instead of burial. In lieu of flowers, just come and share your love with the family.  Please be prepared to share your memories of Gary and celebrate a well-lived life.