Page Mortuary was established in 1947, in Hot Springs, Garland County, Arkansas, by Theodore R. Page, and his brother William “Bubba” Page. It was originally located at 418 Malvern Avenue, in the African American business district, before relocating to 409 Pleasant Street in 1972. The Pleasant Street location had once served as the resident home for the nuns of St. Gabriel Catholic School.
Theodore Page was born May 21, 1918 in Hot Springs, the son of James Will “Pete” and Minnie Ash Page. Pete Page was an early entrepreneur who owned several businesses on Malvern Avenue. Theodore graduated from Langston High School in Hot Springs, and mortuary science school in Nashville, Tennessee in 1941. In 1942 he joined the army and served in the Philippines during World War II.
Theodore married Ernestine Rosborough, and they had one child, Harriett Page. Ernestine and Theodore's sister, Constance, worked in the business as attendants, and did hair styling and make-up for female clients.
He sold his business in 1998 to Brandon Funeral Home of Malvern, Arkansas. On January 13, 2003, the Hot Springs location was destroyed in an early morning fire. Theodore Page died on June 15, 2005. He was a life-long member of St. Paul African Methodist Episcopal Church, Hot Springs.
The project was made possible with a grant from the Arkansas Humanities Council and the Black History Advisory Committee (now the Black History Commission of Arkansas).
This collection contains death records and burial transit permits, 1950-1970.
- Death records
- 1950 (Reel MG00152)
- 1954
- 1959
- 1960
- 1961
- 1962
- 1964
- 1965
- 1966
- 1967
- 1968
- 1969
- 1970
- Death records, supplement
- 1953 [includes name index] (Reel MG00153)
- 1954
- 1967
