Robert Banks

Robert (Bob) Wayne Banks, age 76, of Dardanelle, Arkansas, passed away October 18, 2026, at Mitchell's Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Danville, Arkansas, after a long illness with Parkinson's Disease.

He was born February 4, 1950, in Russellville, Arkansas, to Ben Wayne Banks and Cora Ella (Nordin) Banks and a lifetime resident of Dardanelle, Arkansas. He was a graduate of Dardanelle High School, attending the first through the twelfth grades. He completed three years at Arkansas Tech University, majoring in Computer Science. He was retired from the United States Postal Service and retired as a major from the U.S. Army National Guard. He was a veteran of the Persian Gulf War, Dessert Storm, deployed to Saudi Arabia.

He was a 32nd Degree Mason and a member of the Scottish Rite and the Bright Star Masonic Lodge in Dardanelle. Bob was a longtime member of the Dardanelle First Free Will Baptist Church, serving as a deacon, song director, and Sunday School teacher for many years. He sang tenor in the church quartet and choir in the early years. His love of music included Southern Contemporary Gospel, Pop/Rock with two of his all-time favorite groups: The Beatles and The Carpenters.
Bob enjoyed spending time with his family and had many hobbies making improvements and working very hard on the upkeep of his property. He was an avid reader and enjoyed working crossword puzzles, watching TV game shows with Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy being a must of his daily routine. He also enjoyed many other TV shows and movies.

He was preceded in death by his parents; his brother, Charles Stanley Banks; paternal grandparents, Hardy Banks and Grace (Bray) Banks; Maternal grandparents, John D. Nordin and Cassander (Flannery) Nordin; brothers-in-law; Richard, Gerald and Ronnie Fryar and many aunts, uncles and cousins.

He is survived by his wife of 54 years, Linda (Fryar) Banks, of Dardanelle; one son Ben Thomas Banks, of Dardanelle; two grandchildren, Clayton Thomas Banks (Liberti) of Dardanelle, Bethany Rosas (Andres), of Russellville, one great grandson Brayden Thomas Rosas, of Russellville; a special Aunt, Naomi (Nordin) Newborn, of London; brother-in-law; Billy Fryar, of Paris and sisters-in-law; Judy Guyton, of Elkins, Kathy, Teresa, Debbie and Cindy Fryar, many nephews, nieces and cousins.

Funeral Services will be held at 2:00 p.m. on October 22, 2026, at the Dardanelle First Free Will Baptist Church with Pastor, Brother Kevin Haralson officiating the service. Visitation will be held at 1:00 p.m., one hour prior to the service. Burial will be at Brearley Cemetery under the direction of Humphrey Funeral Service.
Pallbearers are Ben Banks, Clayton Banks, Andres Rosas, Denny Knight, Jeremy Fryar and Richie Fryar.
Honorary pallbearers are the deacons and trustees of Dardanelle First Free Will Baptist Church.
The family would like to express their thanks to Dr. John Westwood and the staff at Mitchell's Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, Life Touch Health, The Belinga Clinic, Arkansas Heart Hospital Clinic and Carti for the excellent care Bob received over the last number of years, months, weeks and days.

Bob’s internet obituary and online guestbook are available at www.humphreyfuneral.com.