Wayne Huddleston

Wayne Huddleston, 89, a longtime Arkansas resident and businessman, died Thursday, Sept. 17, in Farmington, Connecticut. He was born July 27, 1926, in El Dorado, Arkansas, to Virgil and Eltha Huddleston. The Great Depression prompted him to get his first job at age 12, and he continued working until he graduated from El Dorado High School. He served in the Navy during World War II, and in 1947 he married Patricia Sue Nabors. They raised three daughters. As a young adult, Wayne worked full-time at the Monsanto Chemical Company plant and sanded floors on the side. Later he transformed his floor sanding business into a commercial building maintenance company, starting in El Dorado and expanding to Little Rock, Dallas, and some thirty other cities. His businesses eventually cleaned millions of square feet of commercial properties and employed over 800 people. He loved his work and his customers, and he took great pride in the quality of the work his companies did. Wayne was known for his generosity to family, friends, and strangers. More than once, when natural disasters struck, Wayne responded by going to the scene with generators and equipment for clearing debris. When he saw someone in need, he found a way to help. In his spare time, Wayne loved fishing, flying airplanes, fast motorcycles, and telling tall tales about his adventures. Preceded in death by his parents, his wife, and his brother, Rudy Huddleston, Wayne leaves his sister, Marilyn Riggs of El Dorado; his daughters, Melinda Huddleston Uyttebrouck and her husband, Olivier of Albuquerque, New Mexico; Sheila Huddleston and her husband, Stephen Frazzini, of West Hartford, Connecticut; and Gail Huddleston of Denver, Colorado. Grandchildren and their partners are Sarah FrazziniKendrick and her husband, Ben; Alison Frazzini and her fiance', Chris Rhie; and Ian Huddleston. Great-grandchildren are Gabriel, Lorelei, and Charlotte Frazzini Kendrick. Also mourning Wayne are his nephew, Billy Riggs and Billy's wife, Janice, of Norphlet, Arkansas, and their daughters Ashleigh and Lindsey; Wayne's niece, Michelle Riggs Foster, and her husband, Tommy, of El Dorado, Arkansas; and Lawrence Broussard, whom he loved like the son he had always wanted, of Crowley, Louisiana, and Lawrence's family. Wayne loved children and could not bear to think of them sick or in pain. Anyone who would like to make a charitable contribution in his memory might consider two charities that were dear to his heart, St. Jude's Children's Hospital or Smile Train. A memorial celebration will be held at 3 p.m. on Sunday, September 27, at Young's Funeral Home in El Dorado. Burial will follow at Arlington Memorial Park under the direction of Young's. An online guest registry will be available at www.youngsfuneralhome.com.