Henry Desire Didier was born Oct 20, 1916 in Fort Smith, Sebastian Co., Ar to Peter John, Sr & Florentine "Flora" Josephine Dubois Vanderbrook Didier. On August 18, 1940 Henry married Bessie Mae Reed in Crawford Co., Arkasas. Henry was living at Rye Hill, Sebastian Co. Ar and Bessie lived in Fort Smith, Ar. Henry enlisted in the US Army at Camp Joseph T. Robinson in Little Rock, Ar. on Jan 11, 1945. In December 1945 on a Hospital Admission Card Henry had a visit to the General Hospital were he was treated for "Nasopharyngitis, acute" commonly called a cold. He was releasted Jan. 1946. On the admission card it states that Henry was serving with the Quartermaster Corps. Not much else is known about his time spent in the military. Henry's brother Denver Dover Didier also served in the war in the US Army Air Forces. Henry and wife Bessie are both buried in Steep Hill Cemetery. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Find A Grave Henry D. Didier, was born October 20, 1916, in Fort Smith, Arkansas, died Tuesday, July 6, 1999, in a local hospital. He grew up a small house located on Arkansas 71 South, which later became known as Didier's Stretch. He was a first-generation American of French parentage, from whom he got his moral standards and work ethic. He was married to the former Bessie Reed and had one daughter, Gayle Ann Van Kleeck, four grandchildren, Michael McLane, Robert McLane, William McLane and Melissa Stade. He also leaves eight great-grandchildren. Henry did many things in his life's span; fighting for his country in World War II, coal mining, running a coal-cutting machine at Great Western Coal Company and helping to straighten out the Arkansas River with dikes. He was a lumberman, a partner in the Didier Wholesale Lumber Company and a helpful friend to many people. Henry was a Christain. He was a great outdoorsman and felt God's gift of nature and its creations were plentiful and beautiful. He spent most of his adult life in the great national forests as a co-owner and manager of the logging crews for Didier's Wholesale Lumber Company. Henry was a perfectionist in all of his work, no matter how large or how small the job. He also built beautiful toy boxes for his grandchildren and bird houses of all kinds. Henry (Grandpa) was fun to his grandchildren. He played and joked with them all their lives from tomato fights in the garden to homemade sleds on which Grandpa ended up with his head in the snowbank with only his legs sticking out. Henry loved growing beautiful fruits and vegetables. Henry not only played jokes with the grandchildren but with adults also. He once took his city-bred new son-in-law out to plant potatoes. He told him "now each potato must be planted by hand." George, who knew nothing about farm work, carefully put each piece of potato in the ground having to bend over with each one, planting them for hours. By the time George finished, he felt like his back was broken. He was very proud of himself and thought he did a fine job for his new father-in-law. The next year at potato planting time, he saw Henry planting the potatoes with a tractor and a big smile on his face. "No hand work?" George thought to himself. George knew he had been "had." We all had a good laugh. Henry loved life. He once said "I have loved my life and if I could do it over again, I wouldn't change a thing!" He will always be in our thoughts and hearts. Funeral will be 10:30 am Friday in Edwards Funeral Home Chapel of Fort Smith with burial at Steep Hill Cemetery in Fort Smith. Pallbearers will be George Van Kleeck, Robert Stade, Donnie and Randy Didier, John Vozel, Ronnie Walters and Jim and Lowell Weatherbee.