Ralph Randale Bloodworth

He was a fountain of funny stories -- most of them about his own adventures and misadventures. But he was all business when it came to the practice of law.
Ralph Randale Bloodworth Jr., of Poplar Bluff, died Wednesday (Jan. 2, 2013) after a long battle with cancer. He was 68.
Despite failing health, Mr. Bloodworth went regularly to his east side Poplar Bluff office until this New Year's weekend. He was proud of the history and continuity of his law firm, started as a partnership in 1932 by his grandfather and great-grandfather. The firm celebrated its 80th anniversary in 2012 and is believed to be the oldest family-owned law firm in Missouri.
He also was proud of the University of Arkansas, where he earned his law degree; his Razorback tents, flags and paraphernalia were seasonal landmarks along the Current River beach south of Doniphan where his family summer cabin is located.
Mr. Bloodworth was born July 26, 1944, in Poplar Bluff, son of the late Ralph R. and Claudia Bloodworth. A 1962 graduate of Poplar Bluff High School, he played basketball for the Mules and, in the late 1960s, taught briefly and coached basketball at the high school. Mr. Bloodworth earned a bachelor's degree from Arkansas State University in Jonesboro in 1968. He was graduated from law school at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville in 1973 and was admitted to the Missouri Bar that same year. He practiced law in Poplar Bluff from that time forward.
Mr. Bloodworth was admitted to practice before the U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Missouri, and was a member of the Missouri Bar and the Butler County Bar Association, which he served as president in 1976-'77. He also was a former member of the Army National Guard.
Mr. Bloodworth was ""a hard worker and the most honest person I've ever met in my life,"" said Associate Circuit Judge John Bloodworth, a cousin who was part of the Bloodworth law firm for 16 years before being elected in 1998 to the 36th Judicial Circuit bench based in Poplar Bluff. ""He never sought out accolades; that's just not who he was. He labored conscientiously for his clients and was a great mentor to me.""
Associate Circuit Judge William J. Clarkson remembered Mr. Bloodworth as both a ""capable attorney and a good friend. He was always prepared, always on time and always had a kind word or a laugh for everyone.""
When he wasn't practicing law, Mr. Bloodworth liked nothing better than spending time with family and friends on Current River or loading up his motor home for a cross-continental vacation drive with friends. Every fall found him with his buddies at his deer camp near Stringtown, where eating and story telling took precedence over actual hunting. Other passions included Elvis Presley songs and memorabilia, Lionel trains and old pick-up trucks.
Mr. Bloodworth was an easy companion to be around, recalled Donnie Jones, of Williamsville, who, with his wife Evelyn, made most of the motor-home trips with the Bloodworths to destinations as far-flung as Florida, Arizona, Alaska and Newfoundland. ""He did all the driving, and he would try to pick a camping spot under a big shade tree next to a river. But he always said no spot was prettier than Current River,"" said Jones.
In the late 1960s, Mr. Bloodworth married his former PBHS classmate Patricia Piper, who preceded him in death in 1982.
On Dec. 28, 1987, Mr. Bloodworth married the former Jamie McWilliams, of Poplar Bluff, who survives. He also is survived by two daughters, Stacy Bloodworth, of Santa Barbara, Calif., and Leigh Terry, of Barnhart, Mo.; two sons, Ralph R. Bloodworth III, of Carbondale, Ill., and Benjamin Carlyle Bloodworth, of Little Rock, Ark.; a sister, Linda Bloodworth Thomason of Los Angeles, Calif.; five grandchildren, two nieces, a nephew and assorted cousins.
Public visitation will be held from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. Monday, Jan. 7, at First Baptist Church in Poplar Bluff, followed immediately by a funeral service at the same location. Burial will be in Poplar Bluff City Cemetery.
Memorial donations may be sent to the Northside Nutrition Center, 1450 Garfield St., or to the United Gospel Rescue Mission, 421 W. Pine Blvd., both in Poplar Bluff, 63901.