Darla Ann McManus Merritt

Darla Ann McManus Merritt, age 68, of Pine Bluff, Arkansas, passed away on February 15, 2026. Born on January 10, 1958, in Monticello, she was the daughter of the late Harold McManus and Lou Ann Webb McManus. She spent her early years in Star City before moving to Pine Bluff, where she attended Gabe Myer Elementary School and Belair Junior High School. A 1976 graduate of Pine Bluff High School, Darla was a member of the Zebra Girls Cheer Squad, an award-winning gymnast, a winner in the Guidepost Young Writers contest, and was chosen as The Senior Beauty.

She continued her education at the University of Central Arkansas, the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff, and Kodiak College in Alaska. Her professional life included serving as an Administrative Assistant at First South Savings and Loan, Education Coordinator and Co-Director of the MASH Summer Enrichment Camp at the Area Health Education Center in Pine Bluff, and Education Coordinator at Providence Medical Center in Kodiak, Alaska. Over the years, she lived in Pine Bluff and Watson, Arkansas, as well as Anchorage and Kodiak Island, Alaska. After the death of her husband in 2010, she lived near her brothers in Sheridan and Hardy, Arkansas, before returning to Pine Bluff in 2024.

Darla found great joy in her pets, especially raising Maltese dogs for many years. She also loved gardening, cooking, crafts, playing Bingo, and sharing laughter with friends and family. She was preceded in death by her parents, her stepmother Carolyn McManus, her husband Mark Merritt, whom she married on June 20, 1998, and her prenatal granddaughter Ashlyn Elizabeth Howell.

She is survived by her children, Sarah Simpson Howell (Adam) and James Simpson; stepdaughters Emily Merritt Bell and Crystal Merritt; grandchildren Mackenzie Lee Howell, Cassidy Grace Howell, Jay Simpson Duckworth, and Sadie Anna Simpson; brothers Mark Hager (Melody), Jeff Hager (Mary), and Harold McManus, Jr.; sister Carole Ann McManus Neeley (Dane); and many cousins.