Obituaries 6-6-08

Published 12:00 am Friday, June 6, 2008

Pete McAlpin

Services are today at 11 a.m. at Wells Funeral Home. Rev. Jim Rainey will officiate. Visitation will be today 9 a.m. until service time at Wells Funeral Home. Burial will be in Forrest Memorial Park Cemetery. Wells Funeral Home has charge.

McAlpin, born Nov. 20, 1936, in Bolivar, Tenn., to the late Annie Elizabeth Ferguson and the late Walter Alexander McAlpin, was a retired river boat pilot. He served in the U.S. Navy during the Korean War.

Survivors include: one daughter, Julie McAlpin of Cordova; two sisters, Mamie Sue Arnold and Betty Ann Hamilton, both of Memphis and one brother, Charles Walker McAlpin of Millington, Tenn.

Maurice Rush O’Keefe

BATESVILLE–Maurice Rush O’Keefe, 85, died Wednesday, June 4, 2008.

Services are today at 2 p.m. at First United Methodist Church. Burial will be in Batesville Magnolia Cemetery. Visitation is today 1 p.m. until service time at First United Methodist Church. Dickins Funeral Home has charge.

O’Keefe, born in Forrest City, Ark., graduated high school in Jonestown. He attended Columbia Military Academy. Following high school, he attended Mississippi State University, where he was a member of the Kappa Sigma Fraternity. He served for 28 years as a pilot in the Air Force on active duty or reserve, rising to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. He flew as the pilot in command of a B-24 bomber in World War II. His later duty included piloting C-123, C-124, and C-130 aircraft, and he flew combat zone missions in Vietnam. He received numerous commendations and awards for his military service.

After retiring from the Air Force, he worked for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in several capacities, including as a B-727 flight instructor at the FAA’s Flight Training Academy in Oklahoma City. He was the Principal Operations Inspector for FedEx in its early years, and later worked as a flight standards consultant for FedEx.

He was active in church and civic affairs, including Rotary Club, Panola Partnership, Panola County Airport Board of Directors, and was a founding member and served on the Board of Directors of Panola Country Club. He was a member of First United Methodist Church, where he served in the choir and as a music director. He played a leadership role in many church activities, including as a member of the Multi Purpose Building Committee and many related to music.

Survivors include: his wife of 60 years, Margaret O’Keefe; one daughter, Shellie O’Keefe Harrison of Oxford; one son, Maurice Rush O’Keefe Jr. of Memphis; six grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.

Nora Catherine Eubanks Onkst

BATESVILLE–Nora Catherine Eubanks Onkst, 94, died Wednesday, June 4, 2008, at Sardis Community Nursing Home.

Services are Saturday at 11 a.m. at Dickins Funeral Home. Visitation will be 10 a.m. at the funeral home. Dickins Funeral Home has charge.

Onkst, born May 13, 1914, to the late James William Eubanks and the late Annie Pearl Berry Eubanks, was a homemaker.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Robert Monroe Onkst.

Survivors include: one son, James Robert Onkst of Ardmore, Ala.; three daughters, Frances Jean Onkst Milam of Pope, Barbara Onskt McCarley of Batesville and Charlie Ruth Onskt Cole of Oxford; one brother, Ray Eubanks of Water Valley; one sister, Janie Eubanks Vick of Baton Rouge, La.; 12 grandchildren, 22 great-grandchildren and 18 great-great-grandchildren.

Beverly Ann Moore Parker

 BATESVILLE–Beverly Ann Moore Parker, 59, died Tuesday, June 3, 2008, at North Mississippi Medical Center in Tupelo.

Services are Saturday at 11 a.m. at Calvary Baptist Church. Rev. Paul Middleton will officiate. Burial will be in Magnolia Cemetery. Visitation is today 5 p.m. – 8 p.m. at Wells Funeral Home. Wells Funeral Home has charge.

Parker, born Nov. 16, 1948, in Jackson, to Aubrey L. Moore of Batesville and the late Annie Claire Joiner Moore, was a registered nurse for the Panola County Health Department. She was a member of Calvary Baptist Church.

Survivors along with her father include: her husband, Virgil Parker of Batesville; one daughter, Lori Parker of Batesville; two sisters, Nancy Moore Hughes and Brenda Moore Higgs, both of Batesville and two brothers, Phil Moore of Batesville and Robert Moore of Phoenix, Ariz.

The family asks that memorials be sent to The Baddour Center, P.O. Box 97, Senatobia, Miss. 38668.

Terry Pinkins

BATESVILLE–Terry Pinkins, 86, died Tuesday, June 3, 2008, at his residence.

Services are Saturday  at 11 a.m. at Antioch M.B. Church in Courtland. Rev. Jessie Frison will officiate. Burial will be in Antioch M.B. Church cemetery. Visitation is 10 a.m. – 6 p.m. Friday at Cooley’s Mortuary and 10 a.m. – 11 a.m. Saturday at Antioch M.B. Church. Cooley’s Mortuary has charge.

Pinkins, born March 10, 1922,  to the late Lawrence Pinkins and the late Viola Bobo, was a retired factory worker and electrician. He was a member of Antioch M.B. Church.

Survivors include: his wife, Lillie B. Pinkins of Batesville; four daughters, Lynn Amos, Karen Hardin, both of Batesville, Lucy Mae Johnson of Memphis and Shirley Fae Marshall of Ashdown, Ark.; four sons, Glenn Baker and Jewel Draper, both of Batesville, Hosie Holmes and Clyde Holmes, both of Courtland; two brothers, Moses Lawrence Pinkins of Antioch, Calif. and Walter Pinkins of Indianpolis, Ind.; 15 grandchildren and one great-grandchild.