Biography: Judge Sidney H. McCollum, 82, passed away peacefully in Little Rock on Tuesday, April 13, 2022.
 
Sid, the youngest of three brothers, graduated from Conway High School, where he met his sweetheart, Kathryn “Kay” Lyford.  Both attended Hendrix College, marrying shortly after they graduated in 1962.
 
The two moved to Nashville, where Kay taught and Sid attended Vanderbilt Law School.  Upon graduation, Sid served as chief clerk for the Hon. Gordon Young of the United States District Court, served in the U.S. Attorney’s Office and eventually went to work for the prestigious Wright Lindsay Jennings firm in Little Rock.
 
After the birth of their daughter, Alison, and son, Robert, Sid moved the family to Bentonville, Arkansas, becoming a partner in a local firm and a respected leader in the fast-growing community. 
 
He served as president of the Bentonville Chamber of Commerce, as a lt. governor in Kiwanis International, as attorney for the school board and in countless other civic and church leadership post. A born performer, Sid is remembered for roles in local theater and on the square at the Sugar Creek Days festival, which he helped found.
 
In 1989, Sid  was appointed by then Gov. Bill Clinton to serve as judge to the 19th District Court of the State of Arkansas, a position to which he was later elected, and served until 1994.
 
After years of private practice and on the bench, he dedicated the next chapter of his life helping others avoid the courts.  As a pioneer in the field of mediation, Sid founded
ADR (Alternative Dispute Resolution), helping hundreds of clients find solutions to their differences over a plate of Kay’s beloved chocolate chip cookies instead of in a court room. 
 
He taught mediation at the National Judicial College, presented lectures and continuing education for attorneys across the state, severed as the chairman of the Arkansas Dispute Resolution Commission and is credited with bringing mediation to prominence in Arkansas. Never content to truly retire, Sid kept mediating all the way into 2020.
 
Sid will be remembered for his sharp and persistent wit, natural leadership skills, dedication to the service of others and flair for the dramatic. It is also said that puns run in the family.  Sid would say they practically gallop.
 
He was much loved and will be missed by Kay; daughter, Alison McCollum Camp (husband Dale, children, Will Nicholson and Sarah Nicholson, stepchildren, Sara Camp Sanders (Jeff) and Justin Camp (Michelle), step-greatgrandchildren, Corbin, Aubrey, Beckett, Jackson and Clair); son, Robert McCollum (children, Manon McCollum and Lily McCollum); a large family of nieces and nephews; and friends who feel like family.
 
All are welcome to attend a memorial service at Westover Hills Presbyterian Church in Little Rock on Saturday April 16, 2022, at 2 p.m. His ashes will be inurned at the Hendrix College Memorial Garden Columbarium in a private ceremony.
 
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Sid’s memory to Westover Hills Presbyterian Church and First Presbyterian Church of Bentonville Bell Tower. Arrangements are under the direction of RuebelFuneralHome.com