Obituary of Mary Beth Dodgen Fentriss

Mary Beth Dodgen Trice Fentriss of Fort Smith, Arkansas, went to be with the Lord on November 12, 2021.Mary was born on May 22, 1928, to Delma Louis Dodgen and Miriam Cecil Cooper Dodgen in Goodnight, Texas. Mary was raised in a loving family with one older brother and two younger sisters. Known lovingly to family members as Mary Beth, Mary, Mom, Aunt Mary, Miss Mary, Grandmother, and Grandma Mary, she used her 93 years to contribute to the betterment of the lives of her children and other family members and friends.She graduated from Paschal High School at the age of 16 and was ready to enter the world of work and continue her education at Texas Christian University. Mary Beth had a zeal and enthusiasm for life that never faded. She was an avid traveler and had adventures all over the world but her greatest love were her children and grandchildren.Mary met R.C. “Ben” Trice in Fort Worth Texas, who hailed from Oklahoma, and they were married June 3, 1948. After the death of Ben, Mary and Robert “Red” Fentriss were married January 15, 1983, in Fort Worth, Texas and subsequently lived in Mississippi and Cleburne, Texas.After the death of her husband, “Red”, Mary moved to Boonville, Arkansas to live with her daughter, Camille.She never lost her courage, her fight, her hope, her faith, or her ability to love and care for others.Mary is preceded in death by her parents, Delma and Cecil, brother, Dr. Charles Lee Dodgen, husbands, R.C. “Ben” Trice, Robert “Red” Fentriss, and son, Michael Douglas Trice.Mary is survived by her son, Robert Charles Trice; daughters, Melinda Faye Trice Cowart and Mary Camille Trice Alstadt; Red’s four children, son, Richard A. Fentriss, daughters, Barbara Fentriss Dickinson, Patricia Fentriss Brettschneider, and Jaci Fentriss Muzamel; her sisters, Dorothea Faye Dodgen Allen and Miriam Susan Dodgen Whitehead; 14 grandchildren; and numerous great grandchildren, nieces, nephews and friends who love and cherish her.