Vance Ovie

Nutt

Vance Ovie Nutt passed away at the age of 91 on November 9, 2026, at Saline Memorial Hospital in Benton, Arkansas where he succumbed to heart failure. He was born on April 9, 1935, in Malvern, Arkansas.

He was married to the love of his life, Virline Ford Nutt, for 68 years until her death in October 2023. Vance and Virline had three daughters: Gay, Toni, and Paula. He was a doting husband and loving father, and probably the best grandfather and great-grandfather a kid could dream up even if they tried hard.

After dedicating his life to serving God in his early thirties, he graduated from the Missionary Baptist Seminary, also known as “preacher school,” in Little Rock, Arkansas. He pastored for over 55 years at Missionary Baptist churches in Sheridan (Calvary MBC), Lonsdale (Ten Mile MBC), and Benton (Oak Grove MBC). He was full of faith, but more than just a preacher. He lived his faith, never meeting a stranger. He would talk for hours with random people he encountered, eager to learn their whole life story. He loved unconditionally. His generosity knew no limit, sometimes to his own detriment. He always found time to visit congregants who were grieving, ill, disabled, or otherwise “down and out.” A great cook, he often brought food to those he visited. He preached countless weddings, funerals, and revivals over the years. He brought abundance, joy, and hilarity to every potluck he attended. The depth of his faith was most evident when he eulogized his wife, telling everyone calmly and confidently that he would see Virline again in heaven.

In addition to preaching, he worked with his hands as a brickmason. A remarkable craftsman, he took immense pride in his bricklaying work. It was not uncommon when driving him around for him to point out some structure or fixture on a property he had created with his heavily calloused hands. He carried his bricklayers’ union card for his whole adult life, and often bragged that his fellow brickmasons had at one time elected him their spokesman (before he became a preacher).

He loved spending time outdoors and may have treated some fish and game regulations as “guidelines” from time to time. He believed the incredible beauty of nature was the best evidence of his Creator. His grandchildren, who called him “Pappaw,” were sometimes surprised to learn that he had stashed a can of Coke and some sardines in a tree stump near their deer stand, which he was always quick to share, saying “Get you a snort of this.” This was usually after he spent all day walking the Saline River bottoms with a five-gallon bucket full of rocks, so he could jump up deer for his strategically-placed grandkids to shoot. He never met a baby or a kid he didn’t love, and he could always make them smile or laugh. He wanted everyone to have a little bit of fun every day, and he worked hard to make sure they did.

Vance was preceded in death by his parents Fonza and Eva Nutt, sisters Dorothy Mae Cunningham, Thelma Louada Daniels, Lela Pauline Terrel, Ella Alene Jones, and Evie Corrine Gates, and brothers Calvin Lee Nutt, James Howard Nutt, Bernard Hubert Nutt, Huston Edward Nutt, and Troy Dale Nutt. Since he was the last surviving member of his immediate family, he called himself “the Last of the Mohicans.”

Vance is survived by his daughters, Gay Nutt of Benton, Arkansas, Toni Wiegel (Bob Wiegel) of Benton, Arkansas, and Paula Tinsley (Ed Tinsley) of Little Rock, Arkansas; his grandchildren, Mandi Johnson (Jonathan Johnson), Jesse Wiegel, Micah Wiegel (Lauren Wiegel), Justin Tinsley (Blair Graves), Jordan Tinsley (Colleen Youngdahl), and Julie Schaefer (Aaron Schaefer); and his great-grandchildren, Mary Beth Johnson, Clara Johnson, Jack Johnson, Annaleigh Wiegel, Evie Wiegel, Arnold Tinsley, Carina Tinsley, Sloan Tinsley, Dean Tinsley, and Sophie Schaefer.

A funeral will be held at Ashby Funeral Home, 108 W. Narroway St., Benton, AR 72015, on November 12, 2026 at 11:00 a.m., and there will be a visitation at 10:00 a.m. at the same location. Friends and family are invited to attend the visitation and funeral and pay their respects. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made in memory of Vance Nutt to the Cross Roads Mission Fund, Cross Roads Missionary Baptist Church, 10019 Lily Drive, Benton, AR 72015, or floral arrangements that can later be shared with local people to enjoy.