PORTLAND--MRS. BAYDA HILL LAWRENCE, 96, of Portland, died Tuesday, March 7, 2000, at the Chicot Memorial Hospital in Lake Village. Mrs. Lawrence was a native of Ashley County, a resident of Portland since 1985 and a resident of Boydell for many years. She was a homemaker, a retired teacher, a member of the Portland Baptist Church and a member of the Order of the
Eastern Star, Delta Chapter 571. She was preceded in death by her husband, Robert O. Lawrence, in 1997; a son, Joseph Lavern Lawrence in 1984; her parents, Jess & Amzie Smith Hill; a sister, Hazel Hill; a brother, Carlton Hill and an infant sister.
She is survived by two sons, Dr. Robert Lawrence and his wife, Dian, of Jonesboro and Carlton "Buddy" Lawrence and his wife, Mary, of Portland; a daughter, Mary Beth Kelley and her husband, Ray, of Dermott; two sisters, Mildred Dew and Anna Jo Farrar, both of Crossett; 15 grandchildren, 15 great-grandchildren and two great-great-grandchildren.
Funeral services were at 10 a.m., Thursday, March 9, at the Portland Baptist Church with Bro. Jerry Selby and Rev. Ricky Burke officiating. Pallbearers were Ron Miller, H. T. Cunningham, Bill Dew, Earl Farrar, Neal Farrar and Ben Lawrence, Jr. Interment followed services at the Trafalgar Cemetery, directed by Jones Funeral Home of Hamburg.   --Ashley County Ledger, Hamburg, AR, contributed by Kim Torp.