Rosemary Sutton

Rosemary Sutton was peacefully received into the presence of her loving Savior on May 13, 2026 at the age of 85 surrounded by family. She was a wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother and most importantly she was a child of God.

Rosemary was born in Little Rock, Arkansas on August 24th, 1940 as the first child of Elmo and Dora (Riggs) Haynes. She was preceded in death by her parents and sister, Martha Ann Martin.

She is survived by her husband, Charles of Saratoga, Arkansas and her daughter Mary Kay Baxley and husband Clay; son Charles Sutton, Jr.; and son Randy Sutton and wife Kristy. Grandchildren and spouses Andrew and Rachel Baxley; Alyssa and Sebastian Riojas; Matthew and Kelsey Sutton; Joshua Sutton and Riley Sutton and three “greats”, Adelyn and Ella Baxley and Asher Sutton. She is also survived by her brother, Joe Haynes and wife Nancy as well as 10 nieces and nephews.

Her greatest memories are with her beloved grandmother, Floy Riggs at the Riggs farm in Austin, Arkansas. She believed with all her heart that she was her grandmother’s favorite and held that secret until finally sharing with her siblings who informed her that they were the favorite. We believe she decided to always be that kind of grandmother because HER grandkids argue the same point.

Rosemary began her training as a classical pianist at the age of 7. She also trained herself to play the organ. This was a great help to her future husband and the churches where they would serve in music and pastoral ministry. She was a graduate of Central High School in 1958 in the first desegregated class in Arkansas.

Rosemary’s first job as a teenager was at the Minuteman restaurant working for her father, who was the developer of the recipes and cook. When asked what she did there she replied “Whatever he told me to do”. She next worked for Phifers in ladies retail and became an expert package wrapper. She was such a hard worker that she went with the manager to set up another store in Hot Springs. She worked as a bookkeeper at Western Auto in North Little Rock, Truman Arnold Distributing in Texarkana, Yvonne Kelleher Interior Design in Baton Rouge and Baton Rouge Development Center for teens in trouble. She pivoted at Shepherd ISD in Texas as a substitute teacher and Mineral Spring ISD as a substitute teacher for one day and decided to retire.

In June of 1959, Rosemary married her high school sweetheart, Charles Sutton, a young preacher. After their reception her parents decided that the just married couple would drive Grandma home. They dined on hotdogs in their decorated car and on their drive our Mother said she heard someone yell “look, she’s taking her mother with her”.

When she was eight, Rosemary was a part of a push to “save” young children in her church, but she did not truly accept Jesus Christ as her savior until she became a mother. She said as she watched her baby laying on the bed, she realized if she died she would never see her again because she wouldn’t be in heaven. She made her profession of faith and was baptized. Earlier this year to Rosemary’s great joy, she and her husband became members of South Union Missionary Baptist Church in Jenkins, Texas where her son, Randy, is the Worship and Children’s Pastor.

The family would like to thank Judy Stanley for her visits and assistance with her care during emergency room and hospital stays. We would also like to thank the staff and medical personnel at the Cottages at Texarkana for taking care of her the last several months.

A funeral service officiated by Bro. Chad Thompson and Bro. Randy Sutton will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Monday, May 18, 2026 at South Union Missionary Baptist Church. The family will receive friends one hour prior to the service.

A private interment will take place at Oak Grove Cemetery in Austin, Arkansas.