Rep. Stan Berry, R-Dover, attends an Arkansas Legislative Council meeting at the Arkansas State Capitol in Little Rock on November 21, 2025. (Photo by Trenton Almgren-Davis/Arkansas House of Representatives)
Arkansas Rep. Stan Berry, a four-term Republican from Dover, died Monday at the age of 71.
A statement from House Speaker Brian Evans released Tuesday about Berry’s death did not say what the cause was. He represented parts of Pope and Van Buren counties and had been in the House since 2019.
“To me, he wasn’t just a colleague – he was a true friend and someone I genuinely enjoyed being around,” Evans, a Republican from Cabot, said in a statement. “Stan loved Arkansas, and he loved the people of District 44. You could see that in the way he served and the way he treated everyone he met-with kindness, sincerity, and a good sense of humor.”
Republican Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders expressed condolences to Berry’s family and friends in her own statement Tuesday.
“Stan was a solid conservative, a patriotic veteran, a faithful Christian, and a loving husband, father and grandfather,” Sanders wrote. “It was a pleasure to serve the people of the River Valley and all of Arkansas alongside him and work to make our state a better place to call home.”
Berry was first elected to the Legislature in 2002 and served three House terms before unsuccessfully running for a state Senate seat. He returned to the House after being elected again in 2018.
He cosponsored several measures in last year’s session that became law, including one to criminalize unlawful squatting, one to allow nitrogen gas executions and one to allow the state to withhold funding for state-supported colleges and universities that have a Confucius Institute or a Chinese cultural center.
Senate President Pro Tempore Bart Hester, a Cave Springs Republican, said Berry “was a friend to everyone he met” and “his loss will be felt in the Legislature and in his community.”
Before his time in the Legislature, Berry served in the National Guard and was a member of Dover’s city council and school board. He was also on the Tri-County Water Commission, which serves Pope, Yell and Logan counties.
Berry is the second Arkansas lawmaker to die in office in the past year, after Republican Sen. Gary Stubblefield of Branch died at 74 in September. Upon the death or resignation of a lawmaker, the governor’s office issues a proclamation of a vacancy.
Berry’s death leaves Republicans with a 79-20 majority in the state House. The Legislature is set to convene next month for its fiscal session, focused primarily on the state’s budget.
Berry was running unopposed for reelection in November. Next steps to ensure representation for his district in the 2027 legislative session are to be determined.
Deputy Editor Antoinette Grajeda contributed to this article.
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