Remembering Addie Lee Lister, the First Lady of Hootin an Hollarin

The woman known as the “First Lady of Hootin an Hollarin,” Addie Lee Lister, died Aug. 23, 2017, at the age of 100 in Prairie Village, Kansas.

She was born July 4, 1917, in Calvert, Texas, and grew up in Fayetteville, Arkansas. She taught elementary school in Winslow, Arkansas, which was located near a CCC Camp (now Devil’s Den State Park). There she met a CCC worker, Roy Lister. They were married Dec. 29, 1939. Roy was drafted into World War II while attending pharmacy school and spent three years in the South Pacific. After the war, he completed pharmacy school, and in 1952 the Listers moved to Gainesville and opened Lister Drug Store and, later, Terry’s Dime Store.

In Gainesville, Addie Lee was active in the Christian Church, Eastern Star and several other organizations. She was actively involved in the local and state PTA and was a charter member of PEO Chapter JP. She was involved in community betterment programs as well as 4-H Club leadership. Most notably, she helped conceive and organize Hootin an Hollarin (see story, page 53.). Her role as a founder of the longstanding festival is commemorated each year when a young girl is named “Lil Miss Addie Lee.”

Mrs. Lister is survived by her son, Terry Lister and wife Charlotte, granddaughter Sarah Venable, and four great-grandchildren, all of Overland Park, Kansas; and many friends. She was preceded in death by her parents and her husband.  Memorial contributions may be made to Friends of Devil’s Den State Park, P.O. Box 623, West Fork, AR 72774-0623, or devilsden.org.

Ozark County Times

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