Francis Cherry (governor) - Later Life, Death, and Legacy

Later Life, Death, and Legacy

In 1963, after a heart operation in Houston, Texas Cherry was unable to devote full time to his duties but went to his office in Washington, D.C., several times a week. He died in Washington on July 15, 1965. The first of two funeral services was held at his home in Washington. Then the body was transported to Little Rock to lie in state in the rotunda of the Arkansas State Capitol. Services were also held at the First Presbyterian Church of Jonesboro. Interment was at Oaklawn Cemetery in Jonesboro.

Cherry was married to the former Margaret Frierson (1912–1990), originally of Jonesboro. They had two sons, Haskille Cherry (1940–2007) and Francis Cherry, Jr., and a daughter, Charlotte Cherry, then all of Washington, D.C. Margaret and older son, Haskille Cherry, were living in Williamsburg, Virginia, at the time of their deaths.

Governor Faubus and President Johnson were particularly magnanimous in their public statements of mourning on Cherry's death. Faubus said that his former rival rendered "fine service". Johnson said that Cherry left "a rich legacy of accomplishment... I particularly want to extend my sympathy to his family and dear ones and to the countless citizens of Arkansas who have lost in his passing a distinguished leader and a native son whose devotion to constitutional principles and human dignity won him the confidence and admiration of all who knew him."

In 1964, he was named "Alumnus of the Year" from Arkansas graduates of OSU.