Emma Sue Baumann

Emma Sue Baumann, 75, of Cherokee Village, Arkansas, passed away May 23, 2026 — the fifth child of Claude Ealis and Daisy Lucille (Neeley) Winkle — and she never met a stranger a day in her life.

She grew up barefoot on Germany Hill in Cushman, Arkansas in a coal miner's household. By age five she was wandering Cushman on her own, visiting anyone who would have her. She slipped into the church at the bottom of the hill to sit at the piano — she couldn't play, she admitted freely, but she loved doing it anyway. She never waited for permission to find joy in something. 

Sue worked in caregiving and case management, dedicating herself to people in their hardest moments. She founded Baby Steps, a nonprofit that helped women leaving abusive relationships or incarceration, find safety, rebuild their lives, and protect their children. She knew what it meant to need somewhere safe to land — and she spent her life making sure others had one. 

She played guitar, loved karaoke, and kept a handwritten list of her favorite songs — singing every one of them like she meant every word because she did. She wrote poems and letters to the people she loved. She had a deep love for antiques, auctions, and collecting eclectic treasures, always drawn to the things with a story behind them. She had a gift for making everyone around her feel known.

Sue was preceded in death by her husband, Kenneth Baumann; daughter, Kimberlie Preston; sister, Claudia Jean Herzig; brother, Jackie Edward Winkle; and her parents. 

She is survived by son, Christopher Eugene Hatman & his wife, Sara; grandson, Noah Hatman; grandchildren: Kayla Sue Madera-Keith, Joshua Antonio Madera, and Christopher Madera; sisters: Sandra Jackson of Corinth, MS, Judy Brown of Strawberry, AR, and Deborah Ballard of Horseshoe Bend, AR; brother, Jerry Winkle of Tulsa, OK; and many other relatives and great friends.

Celebration of Life will be Friday, May 29, 2026 at 9:00 a.m. in the chapel of Tri-County Funeral Home, 1540 Hwy. 62/412, Highland, AR 72542.  "Que Sera Sera" ... whatever will be, will be - and she made sure it was something worth singing about.