Funeral services scheduled for Sen. Gary Stubblefield

CHARLESTON, Ark. (KNWA/KFTA) — Funeral services have been announced for Arkansas Sen. Gary Stubblefield (R-Branch), who died on Sept. 2 at the age of 74.

Stubblefield’s obituary, posted to the Brotherton Brothers Funeral Homes’ website, says his funeral service will be held on Saturday, Sept. 13, at 11 a.m. at the Charleston High School Gymnasium. The burial will follow at Lowes Creek Cemetery, near Branch.

Stubblefield’s body will lie in state from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 11, in the state Capitol Rotunda in Little Rock. He will lie in state at the funeral home chapel in Charleston from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 12.

His obituary says that Stubblefield died on Sept. 2 at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences in Little Rock. No cause of death has been released.

Stubblefield is survived by his wife, two children, 10 grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.

Stubblefield represented Arkansas Senate District 26, which includes portions of Franklin, Johnson, Sebastian and Logan counties. He had served that district since 2013.

Stubblefield’s four-year term was set to expire in 2029, meaning Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders will have to call a special election for the seat.

“Governor Sanders will fulfill her constitutional obligation to declare a vacancy, call a special election, and ensure the citizens of the River Valley continue to have strong representation in the State Senate,” a spokesperson for the governor’s office said in a statement to KNWA/FOX24 on Thursday.

The Arkansas Constitution states that no senator or representative can be appointed during the term someone should have been elected. Current members of the state House of Representatives are barred from seeking election in the special election.