Gwendolyn "Gwen" Nora (Baldridge) Stroud

Gwendolyn "Gwen" Nora (Baldridge) Stroud, 82, of Salem, Arkansas, passed away on Saturday July 18, 2026, at Mountain Home, Arkansas.

Born on June 11, 1944, in Detroit, Michigan, Gwendolyn was the daughter of Clarence Baldridge and Emogene (Williams) Baldridge. 

Gwen spent her childhood in Martin Creek.  After graduating high school at the age of 16, Gwen enrolled in a laboratory technician school in Stuttgart, Arkansas. Once completed, Gwen accepted a job as the first laboratory technician at Fulton County Hospital in Salem, Arkansas. She was very proud of her job and enjoyed working there. It was at the hospital where she met Bill. He was there to donate blood, and Gwen happened to be the technician taking it. Little did she know that he would be the one she would build a family and a life with. Gwen and Bill married in 1968 and their daughter, Jennifer, was born in 1970. Gwen was a supportive wife and mother. She enjoyed sharing news of her family's great accomplishments. They enjoyed traveling together, and she and Jennifer attended many concerts together. Her family was her life. 

Gwendolyn is survived by nieces, nephews, many other family members and friends. 

She was preceded in death by her beloved husband, Bill Stroud; their daughter, Jennifer Stroud; and her parents, Clarence and Emogene Baldridge.

Graveside memorial services will be 10:00 A.M. Friday July 24, 2026, at the Salem Cemetery in Salem, Arkansas with Bro. Tyler Fox officiating. In lieu of flowers memorials may be made to the St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee. Arrangements are under the direction of Barker Funeral Home in Salem, Arkansas.