Biography: Mary Jane Watkins-Dortch of Eureka Springs, Arkansas passed on July 30, 2023 at 91. She was born on August 29,1931 in Springdale, Arkansas to parents Thelma Jackson and Walter Watkins. Her father was the manager of the Welch's Grape Company in Springdale, Arkansas. She was an honor graduate of Springdale High School in Springdale, Arkansas in 1949.  She earned scholarships to University of Arkansas in Fayetteville, where she was a member of Phi Beta Phi sorority.  She earned a bachelor’s of Music, specializing in voice in 1953.
 
She was a Sweetheart of Army ROTC where she met Robert L Dortch of Scott, Arkansas. The couple married on July 24, 1953 in Springdale, Arkansas. They lived in Scott, Arkansas where they farmed cotton, soybeans, and rice. They were members of Christ Episcopal Church in Little Rock. The couple had four children. The family moved to Eureka Springs, Arkansas in 1981 where they developed the Eureka Springs and North Arkansas Railway.
 
She is preceded in death by her parents, her siblings, her husband Robert L Dortch, and her daughter Nancy McKinley.
 
She is survived by sons Robert, David and John Dortch, and grandchildren Edward and Mary Katherine McKinley.
 
The internment and service will be held at Oakland Cemetery, Mausoleum in Little Rock, Arkansas on Monday, August 7, 2023 at 3 p.m.  Arrangements are under the direction of RuebelFuneralHome.com