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Ashton McCombs III Obituary

Ashton P. McCombs III, age 64, of Fayetteville, Arkansas went home to be with his Lord and Savior on Sunday, November 7, 2021.

Ashton lived a full, vigorous life brimming with service, spontaneity, vision, and action. He was born in Hamburg, Arkansas on March 20, 1957, the son of Ashton P. McCombs Jr. and Joyce (Denton) McCombs and brother of Mary (McCombs) Whipple. Ashton’s quick wit, good humor, and propensity for pranks were refined in his charmed Delta upbringing, filled with idyllic days on the family farm, fishing on Bayou Bartholomew, and legendary small-town antics that often involved firecrackers or frightening his beloved sister Mary. After graduating from Hamburg High School in 1975, Ashton received an appointment to the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. During his time in Annapolis, he was a member of the 23rd Company, played on the tennis team, and achieved a B.S. in History. As a proud graduate of the Class of 1979, Ashton was commissioned into the Navy as a Supply Officer. While in Athens, Georgia for training, he met the love of his life, Elizabeth “Betts” Singleton through several strokes of fateful serendipity, both naive of the adventures ahead. Ashton and Betts married on November 18, 1984, in Central, South Carolina, and started a family of four children. Ashton gave his family the gift of exploring God’s creation together by marching his rambunctious crew from Illinois to the Netherlands, and finally back home to Arkansas.

Ashton was a beloved leader and an archetype of American enterprise, work ethic, and unbridled optimism. After graduating from the Naval Academy, he worked 23 years for Nalco Chemical Company during which he rose steadily through the ranks to become General Manager overseeing one of the most successful parts of the company. In 2004, he co-founded Phigenics LLC with Jay Reading and William McCoy. Together, they set standards in the water management industry. They pioneered innovation to prevent disease and injury from waterborne pathogens and conserve water in facilities such as hospitals in all 50 states. In 2016, he and Betts founded SLS Community, a non-profit organization in Fayetteville, Arkansas with the vision of building an inclusive community for neurodiverse adults with vocational, residential, and clinical resources. As Ashton always said, the true founder of SLS Community is their daughter Anna. Her journey with autism has been an anchor for the family as well as the impetus for SLS Community’s enduring mission.

Ashton never knew a vision too large, an adventure too wild, a dull moment, someone in need he could not help, or a joke too bizarre (in his estimation). He had a gift of lighting up a room and making everyone he spoke with feel that they were the only person in the world, because to him, they were. He had boundless love for his family, deep curiosity for history, lifelong passion for music, and he satisfied his devotion to running by logging 1000 miles a year while somehow avoiding a single injury. Ashton followed his savior Jesus Christ his entire life and set an example of sacrificial love, abiding faith, humility, generosity, and courage until his final day on Earth.

Betts contributes expertise to both the Phigenics and SLS teams on a project basis. As Anna’s mother, Betts is intimately familiar with the needs and potential of adults with autism and hopes and dreams of families, as well as the difficulty and isolation. The McCombs research into support, services, treatment and programs that foster self actualization brought them to the University of Chicago, the Cleveland Clinic, Johns Hopkins Hospital, Kennedy Krieger Institute and May Institute. She is passionate about helping all people live healthier, more well-rounded lives through food, physical exercise, relationships, and using their gifts.

Marilyn B. Benoit, M.D. is the immediate past Chief Medical Officer/Chief Clinical Officer and SVP of Clinical and Professional Affairs of Devereux Advanced Behavioral Health (2011-2018). She is a Past President of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry (2001-2003). She attended Georgetown University Medical School, where she also completed both General & Child & Adolescent Psychiatry training. She has trained psychiatry fellows at all three medical schools in Washington, DC: The George Washington University, Howard University and Georgetown University. She is a Clinical Associate Professor in the department of Psychiatry at Georgetown University. She is also an adjunct Clinical Associate Professor in the department of Psychiatry at the Drexel School of Medicine. She holds a graduate degree in Health Services, Management & Policy from The George Washington University School of Public Health. She has served on non-profit Boards, including The Field Center of Social Work & Social Policy at the University of Pennsylvania, the Child Welfare League of America, the Alliance for Childhood,
which she co-founded, and Devereux Advanced Behavioral Health. She is an Advisor to BestKids Mentoring organization for youth in foster care in Washington DC from its inception 20 years ago. Dr. Benoit currently serves on the Boards of Chance Academy, a not-for-profit school in Washington, DC for underprivileged children, the Talisman Therapeutic Riding Center on Maryland’s Eastern Shore and SLS Community in Northwest Arkansas. Dr. Benoit is now focusing her professional activities on systems consulting in Behavioral Health, Organizational Management and Organizational Behavior.

Jeff is a key leader in the state of Arkansas and in the Northwest Arkansas region. He is involved with the creation of a lasting venture/startup ecosystem. He is the Founding Principal of Startup Junkie Consulting.

Amy Kelly has nearly twenty years of personal and professional hands-on experience in navigating the world of neurodiverslty, autism and intellectual disabilities, advocacy and special education, since the diagnosis of her daughter in 2003 with severe autism, intellectual and developmental disabilities, and other life-long chronic conditions. After her daughter's diagnosis and beginning an intense therapeutic program at Devereux Advanced Behavioral Health in 2006, Amy noticed a need for increased family engagement within the organization and community at large. She put together a business plan to address these issues and presented it to the Executive Director, who then created Amy's position as Director of Family & Community Services in 2011. Now serving as National Director of Family Engagement for Devereux since 2019, she has been able to utilize her role to create new ways of engaging and collaborating with families and caregivers inside and outside of the organization, as well as connecting to the major touchpoints of the autism and I/DD journey, for staff, leadership, the community and families, both within Devereux and the Human Services professional field. Amy has an MBA from Saint Joseph's University as well as a Masters in Nonprofit Management from Johns Hopkins and serves as a family representative and advisor on several special needs boards in the community, locally and nationally. In addition, Amy participates with other patients and families in efforts supported by the American Board of Pediatrics Foundation, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and the Autism Speaks Autism Care Network, and serves on the Executive Committee to the American Academy of Pediatrics Section on Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics to assist children and families living with special needs and the importance of awareness, quality care and resiliency.

Randy served 33 years as Director of Housing at various state universities, including the University of Arkansas. He is also a former state representative. Randy and Pat’s daughter, Lauren, had Spina Bifida, and passed away in her twenties.

Mary Ann is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst and a Licensed Speech/Language Pathologist.
In Graduate School, she realized that her passion extended beyond the evaluation and
treatment of individuals with significant communication and social needs, broadening her
focus to include those with significant social, behavioral and cognitive differences. Mary Ann
has served this population as a member of two university developmental teams, a supervisor in
a residential facility, an at-risk infant/toddler consultant, a graduate level clinical instructor and
adjunct professor, as the coordinator of Vanderbilt’s Autism Program (Communication Sciences
Department), and as an independent Autism Consultant. Prior to becoming the Director of
Clinical Services at SLS Community, Mary Ann served as Co-Coordinator for the Behavior
Support Specialists (Arkansas Department of Education, Division of Special Education). She was
honored to serve on the SLS Community Board, as a charter board member and Secretary of
the Board between October 2017 and May 2019. Mary Ann is driven to develop professionals
who combine their passion for caring for others with well-honed skills. As a professional, she is
devoted to ensuring that every neurodiverse person has an individualized designed and
selected, purposeful place to play, work, and live.