Roylene Sue McCluskey

Roylene Sue McCluskey aged 62 of Mountain View, Arkansas passed away on October 24, 2023, at Regency Hospital in Springdale, Arkansas.

She was preceded in death by her father, Roy McCluskey, and grandson Gabriel McCluskey.

Survivors include her three children, Luke (Ashley) McCluskey, Ethan T. Foster, and Raven Foster, many grandchildren including Catalina McCluskey, Brooklyn McCluskey, Chloe Williams, Riley McCluskey, and Axel Williams, her mother Carole McCluskey, as well as her Sisters Becky Fuller, Patricia Long, and many friends including Brenda Foster.

Sue was born in Winfield, Illinois on September 11th, 1961, and lived a happy childhood in the suburbs of Chicago, travelling back and forth to the family farm in Mountain View, AR, where she always felt the most at home among the gardens and animals. She was adventurous and would go on excursions into nature, exploring and learning about anything she could.

Her first job was a veterinary assistant, working with animals, then working as a waitress until eventually getting her dream career with the U.S. Forest Service. Her connection to nature and exploration led her to work with the Forest Service for many years, working as a Blanchard Springs Caverns cave guide and then an Archeological Technician, surveying land for lost communities and relics of the past in the forests of the Ozarks. She helped reclaim many lost cemeteries and homesteads long forgotten, and even assisted in Trail of Tears research. She published many works regarding the history of the Ozarks, historical communities, and Genealogical studies as well creating maps used by many in the field. She became a local historian and expert on Ozark history earning many accolades. She also was an integral part of the Calico Rock Museum where she helped build the Native American exhibit.

Sue was a lover of plants and animals. She always had a herd of animals, even having a small goat farm at one time. Horticulture was one of her biggest passions and she collected unique plants to grow in and around her home. Sue was a student of the old ways of self-sufficient living. She grew vegetables every year, canned her own food, made her own cheese, baked her own bread, and lived off the land like homesteaders did. She cultivated knowledge from the past and shared with people via recipes, demonstrations, and books of notes and sketches.

She was also a lifelong creative person, drawing and sketching from a young age. She knew the arts of tailoring, beadwork, and many other crafts to which she shared with loved ones.

A memorial service may be announced at a later date by the family. Memorials may be sent to: the Calico Rock Historical Museum.