Arthur M. Ousley, Sr.

Arthur Melvin Ousley, Sr. born July 2, 1946 to parents Albert Ousley, Sr. and Carmel Thomas Ousley. His family called him Butch but he was better known in the community as Big O.

He was educated in the Des Moines Public Schools and was a proud graduate of Tech High School 1964. He attended Pittsburgh State College in Pittsburgh, KS, Grandview College and DMACC. He was a certified drug and alcohol counselor. Arthur retired from the State of Iowa as a Probation/Parole Officer and following retirement he was hired as the director of the Logan Boys and Girls Club where he instituted the Reviving Baseball in the Inner City Program that benefited so many young people.

The first love of his life was the Lord and Arthur accepted Christ at an early age and attended Mount Olive Baptist Church where he served as Trustee and Deacon. In 2005 Arthur transferred his membership to Bethel AME Church where he was ordained a deacon and eventually became an associate pastor. He was asked to be a supply pastor at Wayman AME Church in Rock Island, IL and then in 2006 he was asked to merge Wayman and St. Paul AME Church in Moline, IL. He successfully combined the congregations and the church memberships into New Journey AME Church. He was the proud pastor for ten years.

Activities? He always said if a ball was involved he could play it and win! He played for the Des Moines Vikings semi-pro football team. But the third love of his life was fastpitch softball which he played for 50 plus years. Arthur was inducted into the Softball Hall of Fame in 2013. He played ball for the Des Moines Jets, Kane’s Chevrolet, Des Moines Dragons, 1A-Rob and his beloved Walker Street. He bowled for many teams in the Des Moines and Quad Cities area and was a past member of the Roadrunners. He also enjoyed playing spades and dominoes and loved to trash talk his opponents.

Arthur’s second love was Yvonne Smith and they married in 1987. They combined their families into one and the cherished memories will be left to LaChelle (Jarrod) Brown, Artie Ousley, Art (Angie) Ousley, Jr., Armont (Tina) Ousley, Chad Moore, Charisse (Derrick) Whitlock, Julanda (Robert) Taylor and Julian (Jessi) Brown and Derek Burton, sisters Lois (Mike) Edwards, Phyllis (Brad) Voss, 22 grandchildren and 16 great grandchildren, nieces, nephews, cousins and friends.

Arthur passed away Friday, May 24, 2019 at the age of 72. Visitation will be held from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. Thursday, May 30, 2019 at Hamilton’s Funeral Home, 605 Lyon Street, Des Moines. Funeral service will begin at 11:00 a.m. Friday, May 31, 2019 at Bethel AME Church, 1528 E. University Ave, Des Moines, and will be followed by burial at Glendale Cemetery. Family will greet guests at the church from 9:00 to 10:45 a.m., prior to the funeral service. In remembrance of Arthur, memorials may be made directly to the family.

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