Final Salute

Fred Arlis Vanzant, age 98, went home to the Lord on December 19, 2023, while surrounded by his family. An irreplaceable fixture in the Arkansas farming community, Fred lived a full, luminous life guided by his intentional legacy to leave all things better than he found them.
The youngest of seven children, Fred was born May 5, 1925, in Sonora, Ark. He spent his childhood working on his family’s farm and attending Jaybird’s one-room schoolhouse. After graduating from Huntsville High School in 1943, Fred joined the Navy at 17 and boarded a train to Camp Perry, Va. He was a WWII Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class in the Construction Battalion (Seabee), spending 32 months in the South Pacific. Across land and ocean, he wrote to his sweetheart, Kayhlene Graham, a girl who caught his eye at a gospel singing before leaving Arkansas.
Fred returned home at the end of the war and flew a Stearman biplane to crop-dust fields. Still captivated by Kahylene, he strived to impress her through flying aerobatics over her parents’ farm. Neither she, nor her parents approved of the stunts, but she did love and marry him.
The couple purchased their first 80 acres and Vanzant Fruit Farms was born. They planted apples, peaches, and grapes, continuing the legacy of their ancestors who began farming produce in northwest Arkansas in 1830. For 74 years, Fred perfected his peach crops, captivated friends and family with his legendary storytelling, and endeared farm visitors with his contagious laughter.
As their business expanded, so did their family. Fred and Kahylene had six children, and Fred worked to instill steadfast faith and unshakeable work ethic in each of them. He was quick to name “family” as the biggest blessing of his life.
A dedicated church and community member, Fred was a gifted singer and often sang at churches and funerals. He served as an executive board member of Welch Foods, Inc., and President of the Arkansas Horticultural Society. He was a member of Lowell Baptist Church and Sons of the American Revolution. In 1984, Fred and family were recognized as the Northwest Arkansas and District Farm Family of the Year. In 2023, he was recognized by the Daughters of the American Revolution as a distinguished citizen.
Fred is survived by five children, Regena Shelby (Ron) of Rogers, Ark., Teresa Houston (Noyl) of Jonesboro, Ark., Katharine Arno (David) of Charlotte, N.C., Stephen Vanzant (Cheryl) of Lowell, Ark., and Angela Courtney (John) of Las Vegas, Nev.; 12 grandchildren, Abby, Matthew, Katherine, Elizabeth, Rebecca, Caroline, Emily, David, Daniel, Stephanie, Lillian, and Jack; 19 great-grandchildren, Graham, Hutch, Reese, Sawyer, Samuel, Andrew, Robert, Julia, Daniel, Henry, Charles, Hannah, James Arlis, Ethan, River, Camryn, Lainey, Elyse, Tristyn; and great-great grandson Jaxon, survive him.
His beloved wife, Kahylene; son, Robert; and granddaughter, Erin precede him in death. He is also predeceased by his parents, Fredrick Lafayette Vanzant and Frances Harp; and siblings, Oral, Annis, Bearden, Audry, Ava, and Alice.
Visitation will be December 29, 2023, at Lowell Baptist Church from 5-7 p.m. Funeral service will be December 30, 2023 at Lowell Baptist Church at 10 a.m. Burial will follow at Bluff Cemetery in Springdale, Ark.
Online condolences may be left at www.siscofuneral.com
Published December 23, 2023