Biography: Kathleen Frances Madden Henriksson, 65, was born September 8,1958 in Newport, Arkansas, and died July 28th, 2024, in Little Rock surrounded by her family.

She graduated from Little Rock Central High School and attended Sophie Newcomb College at Tulane University. After living many years in New Orleans, Louisiana, she moved briefly to Houston, Texas, and then settled in Stuart and Apalachicola, Florida, before returning to Little Rock in 2012.

She began her career in the hotel and travel industries in New Orleans, where she was employed at the Pontchartrain Hotel and at Parrish Travel. In Florida she worked with Fun Tours travel and managed the historic Lyric Theater in Stuart, before becoming a licensed real estate broker. When she returned to Little Rock, Kathleen worked for Global Ties and Christ Episcopal Church, where she was also a communicant in good standing. She volunteered at the Clinton Presidential Library and the Clinton School of Public Service.

Kathleen was predeceased by her parents, Joe Elza Madden, Sr. and Mary Etta Grady Madden. She is survived by her five younger siblings, Joe Elza Madden, Jr., (Steve Bullock) of Little Rock, Etta Maureen Madden (Neil Guion) of Springfield, Missouri, Mary Elizabeth Madden (Gary Thompson) of Fayetteville, John Kevin Madden (Oxana) of Arlington, Virginia, and Annette Madden-Kline (Doug Kline) of Darien, Connecticut; sister-in-law Ellison Poe of Little Rock; and eight nieces and nephews: Jane Madden; Burton Guion and Daniel Guion; Connor Thompson and Colin Thompson; Isabella Madden, J. J. Madden, and George Madden; Gray Kline, Camilla Kline, Addison Kline and Thea Kline.

Known as “Kak” to family and lifelong friends, Kathleen lived life to the fullest, with intelligence, spirit, charm, and wit. Although tiny in stature, her personality was larger than life. She had a sense of style and adventure, loved to travel and experience the world, and meet new people. She loved to read; during high school she clerked in the Children’s Division of the Little Rock Public Library. She was a fan of classic movies and television, with tastes ranging from the Marx Brothers to Marilyn Monroe, from Perry Mason to Andy Griffith, the Beverly Hillbillies, and her all-time favorite, Bugs Bunny. Her musical tastes were equally wide ranging, from the Beatles and David Bowie to the sounds of the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra’s performances.

Kak also had a life-long love of American muscle cars, starting with her first car, a 1968 Thunderbird, that she liked to drive way too fast. At various points in her life, Kak took up square dancing, sailing, and scuba diving, and she joined an antique car club with her mid-1970s land-yacht Oldsmobile Delta 88 convertible, known fondly as the QEIII.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorials be made to Wolfe Street Foundation (https://www.wolfestreet.org/), the Humane Society (https://www.humanesociety.org/), Arkansas Symphony Orchestra (https://www.arkansassymphony.org/), or the Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts (https://arkmfa.org/). A memorial service will be held at a later date.