Mattie Bell Avery, age 78 of Little Rock for the past three years, formerly of Lake Village, died Monday, March 7th, 2011 at her daughter's home in Dermott. She was a native of Calhoun, LA. She was a homemaker and a member of the Pilgrim Valley Baptist Church in Little Rock, formerly a member of Brown Temple Baptist Church in Portland, AR.

She was preceded in death by her husband of 50 years, Ester Avery; one son, Dave Avery; her parents, Grady Dunnaway and Picola Henderson and one sister, Bessie Dunnaway.

She is survived by eight sons: Ester Avery, Jr. and wife Josephine of Little Rock, AR, Charles Avery of Little Rock, AR, Robert Avery and wife Claudia of Monticello, AR, Percy Avery of Battle Creek, MI, Frankie Avery of Kansas City, MO, Andrew Avery of Atlanta, GA, Jeffrey Avery of Fairfield, CA, and Patrick Avery of Oakland, CA; six daughters: Dorothy Matheney of Douglasville, GA, Martha Scales and husband Othell of Little Rock, AR, Rosemary Bethune of Little Rock, AR, Sandra Moore and husband Edwin of Little Rock, AR, Stephanie Avery of St. Louis, MO, and Sylvia Meads and husband John of Dermott, AR; two brothers, Rufus Lee of Monroe, LA and Eddie Lee and one sister, Doris Rollins and husband Larry of Monroe, LA; forty grandchildren; fifty-six great grandchildren; one great-great grandchild; and a host of other relatives and friends.
Funeral services will be Sunday, March 13th at 2:00pm at Central Community Center in Lake Village with Rev. Levenski Smith and Rev. Arthur L. Haney officiating. Interment will be at Portland Cemetery #2 under the direction of Cromwell Funeral Home, Inc. Pallbearers will be Lynn Johnson, Charles Bynum, Wibert Easterling, Michael Brown, Fredrick Morgan and Derrick Coakley.