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Aromatique Founder Patti Upton Dies At 79

3 min read

Patti Upton, founder of multimillion dollar company Aromatique, died Tuesday at her home on Eden Isle in Heber Springs following a brief illness. She was 79.

The Jonesboro native was inducted into the Arkansas Women’s Hall of Fame and Arkansas Business Hall of Fame last year.

A memorial service is planned for 2 p.m. Sunday, June 4, at First United Methodist Church, 1099 W. Pine St. in Heber Springs. Family Funeral Service in Heber Springs is handling the arrangements, and the family requests that memorials be made to P.E.O., a philanthropic organization where women celebrate the advancement of women. 

Upton is survived by her husband, Richard “Dick” Upton; twin sons, Joseph Paige Upton and James Peyton Upton, their wives and four grandchildren. The obituary provided by the family also listed Patti Upton’s dog, Belle, as a survivor.

Although she stepped down as president and chief executive officer of Aromatique in 2013, Upton remained a stockholder of the company she started nearly 35 years ago.

In her most recent interview with Arkansas Business, she attributed much of its success to the 200 people the company employs and reminisced about the day-to-day work.

Before Aromatique, American women brought fragrance to their homes mostly by using live flowers. Upton changed the industry with decorative fragrances in open bowls, as well as fragranced candles.

Prior to starting the business, Upton was a stay-at-home mom and did some interior design work on the side. She had also been a sought-after fashion model for various retailers.

Upton earned an associate’s in arts degree from Stephens College in Columbia, Missouri. She won a Christian Dior Fashion Award while there, then attended classes at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville, but did not graduate from UA.

She met her husband at UA. He was in the military and they were stationed at Fort Carson, Colorado for two years. The couple then moved to West Memphis and started their family.

Following her successful launch of Aromatique, Upton was recognized by Working Woman magazine, the International Women’s Forum, the Society of Entrepreneurs, the Easter Seal Society, Scottish Rite Masons of Arkansas and many other organizations.

She was featured in nationally syndicated television show “Working Woman,” a “Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous” segment, People magazine, the London Sunday Express, the Washington Post, Victoria magazine, Southern Living magazine and the book The Business of Bliss.

Upton was also named an Arkansas Business Woman Owner of the Year, and her company was an Arkansas Business of the Year. She was an Arkansas Business Woman to Watch in the 1990s.

Running the company was not her only role in local business either. In 1993, Upton was named to the board of directors at Southwestern Bell Corp. and its successor, AT&T Inc. She served on that board for 18 years.

Her philanthropic efforts have amounted to millions of dollars too.

In 1993, Upton created “The Natural State” fragrance line in part to benefit The Nature Conservancy. Since the line’s launch at Saks Fifth Avenue in New York City, more than $1 million has been donated to the organization.

Nearly $1 million has also been donated to the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences Medical Center Auxiliary for the purchase of equipment for the hospital.

Upton received a Distinguished Citizen Award from the Little Rock NBC affiliate KARK-TV and the governor of Arkansas as a result of her philanthropic endeavors.

The Uptons were also active in their local community. They created Heber Springs’ Fourth of July Extravaganza, purchased chimes for the courthouse, contributed to the new library and the hospital garden and much more.

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