Edith Louise O'Neal, age 88, of Malvern, died Friday, February 28, 2020 in Benton.  She was born on October 16, 1931 in Denton, Texas to the late Earl Ritcherson and Lula Doughty Ritcherson.  Reared and educated in Texas, she had been a resident of Malvern for 70 years.  She was the widow of the late Garvin Alexander O'Neal, to whom she was married on October 25, 1947.  He preceded her in death in 1997.  Together, they owned and operated North Malvern Nursery for 25 years.  She loved gardening and taking care of her yard, and was an avid collector of antiques, especially teapots and plates.  Also a lover of animals, she raised and cared for many dogs and cats over the years.  Mrs. O'Neal was a Christian.

Her survivors include her daughter, Kathy James and her husband, Walter, of Benton; her son Glynn Alexander O'Neal of Houston, Texas; three grandchildren, John James, Sherrie James, and Racheal O'Neal.

Mrs. O'Neal was also preceded in death by two brothers and five sisters.

Graveside services were held on Thursday morning, March 5, 2020 at Rockport Cemetery.

Mrs. O'Neal asked that the following message be included in this obituary:  "I hope all of you will be understanding and forgiving for my decision which I made some time back and asked my children to honor, and that was that my passing would be very private with my immediate family only to be in attendance at my graveside service.  God bless and keep all of you, and if you must do something in my honor, I would ask that it be in the form of a donation to your local Humane Society.