Obituaries 4-20-10
Published 12:00 am Tuesday, April 20, 2010
BATESVILLE–– Jim “Jimmy” Tom Boucher, Jr., 59, died Monday, April 19, 2010 in Oxford.
Visitation will be held Tuesday at Dickins Funeral Home from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Funeral services will be held Wednesday, April 21 at Dickins Chapel at 2 p.m. with burial following at Chapel Hill Cemetery in Pope.
He was the son of the late Jim Tom Sr. and Merlene Cothran Boucher.
Boucher is survived by his wife of 36 years, Mrs. Oma Sprouse Boucher; one daughter, Jennifer Lynn Boucher Allison of Batesville; one son, Michael Anthony “Bird” Boucher; two sisters, Ann Gonzales of Alvarado, Texas and Louise Hurst of Mantee; three brothers, John Howard Boucher of Courtland, James Ellis Gazaway of Crowder, and Edward Lee Gazaway Jr. of Tippo.
BATESVILLE—Hazel L. Brown, 92, formerly of Memphis, died Friday, April 16, 2010, at Baptist Memorial-North Mississippi.
Services were Monday at Forest Hill South in Memphis. Burial was in Forest Hill South Cemetery.
Brown, born to the late Clarence William “Budd” Branch and Lillie Mae Norwood Branch Johnson, was a former employee of Goldsmith’s Department Store in Whitehaven and a former member of Whitehaven Baptist Church.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Horace Cecil Brown and one daughter, Celia Joyce Simmons.
Survivors include: two daughters, Norma A. Johnson of Batesville and Dale B. Kline of Horn Lake; one son, Daniel M. Brown of Batesville; one sister, Lillie Virginia Brown of Missouri; 14 grandchildren; 26 great-grandchildren and nine great-great-grandchildren.
ENID—Deborah Gail Keen Sanders, 54, died Saturday, April 17, 2010.
Memorial services will be held today at noon at Wells Funeral Home Chapel. Visitation will begin one hour prior to services. Wells Funeral Home has charge.
Sanders, born Dec. 27, 1955, in Memphis, to the late Charles and Neily Grigsby Keen, was a homemaker.
Survivors include: her husband, Dennis Sanders of Enid; one daughter, Jackie Shea Sanders McMullan of Enid; one son, Jeff Sanders of Sardis; one sister, Tammy Keen Smith of Olive Branch; two brothers, Eric Keen of Whitehaven, Tenn. and Danny Keen of Knoxville and four grandchildren.
The family requests that anyone wishing to send memorials send them to the Ronald McDonald House, 2524 North State Street, Jackson, Miss. 39216.
Ben Barrett Smith
BATESVILLE – Ben Barrett Smith, 67, died Sunday, April 18, 2010, at St. Francis Hospital in Memphis.
Visitation is 5-7 p.m., Wednesday, April 21, at First United Methodist Church in Batesville. Services are at 11 a.m. Thursday at the church, with burial at 3 p.m. at Oak Hill Cemetery in Water Valley.
Smith was born August 29, 1942, in Long Beach, Calif., to the late Jeanette and Herman Smith of Water Valley. He graduated from Water Valley High School in 1960. While in high school, Smith was a page for Congressman Jamie Whitten in Washington, D.C. and set the season rushing record in football.
He received a bachelor of public administration degree from the University of Mississippi in 1964, and was a member of Delta Kappa Epsilon. In 1967 Smith graduated from the Ole Miss Law School where he was a member of the Moot Court Board. He worked for the Illinois Central Railroad throughout college and maintained a lifelong love for trains.
Smith became an associate of the Finch Law Firm in Batesville upon graduation from law school. He joined the firm of Robert T. Riser in 1968, later becoming a partner in the firm which became Smith, Musgrove, and McCord.
He was the attorney for the Panola County Board of Supervisors, First Security Bank, South Panola Community Hospital, South Panola School District, and Tallahatchie Valley Electric Power Association.
Smith was appointed Special Master of the Panola County Chancery Court. He was Chairman of the Miss. Workers’ Compensation Commission from 2000-2003, and was serving as an instructor at Northwest Community College in Oxford at the time of his death.
He was a member of the board of directors of First Security Bank, a founding member of the Batesville Exchange Club, chairman of the March of Dimes, and a member of the Batesville Jaycees, Batesville Civitan Club, Panola County Bar Association and Mississippi Bar Association.
Smith was an active member of First United Methodist Church where he had served as chairman of the Administrative Board, chairman of the Finance Committee, chairman of the Pastor-Parish Relations Committee and as a Sunday School teacher.
Survivors include his wife of 45 years, Kay Kay Wilbourn Smith; one daughter, Stacy Smith Climer and husband Tim of Batesville; one son, Will B. Smith and wife Anne Fairley of Oxford; one brother, Pete Smith and wife Brenda of Newnan, Ga.; five granddaughters, Barrett Climer, Abbey Climer, and Alden Climer of Batesville, Sydney Smith of Cordova, Tenn., and Leland Graeber of Oxford; and two grandsons, John Graeber IV, and Duncan Graeber of Oxford.
Memorials may be sent to First United Methodist Church of Batesville or to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
CROWDER—Wilton Harold Smith, 71, died Wednesday, April 14, 2010.
Memorial services were Saturday at Dickins Funeral Home.
Smith, born June 10, 1938, in Memphis, to Wilton Smith and the late Lavelle Smith, was a member of Crowder Baptist Church. He graduated Messick High School, class of 1956 amd was a former business owner and associate with Bob Freidman of Clarksdale.
He was preceded in death by one son, Harold Dwayne Smith.
Survivors in addition to his father include: his wife of 52 years, Martha Moore Smith; two sons, Reed Smith of Grenada and Mark Smith of D’Iberville; two brothers, Jerry Martin Smith of Grand Junction, Tenn. and William Lee Smith of Hernando; six grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.
Memorials may be made to Crowder Cemetery or American Diabetes Association.
SARDIS–Stephen Toliver, 37, teacher’s assistant at North Panola School District, died April 11, 2010 at Baptist Hospital in Memphis.
Services were Saturday at St. Peter M.B. Church, with Rev. Odell Draper Jr., officiant.
Burial was in the church cemetery.Hodges-Freeman Funeral home had charge of arrangements
Suvivors include his mother and step-father, Sarah and Donald Taylor, Sardis; one sister, Jennifer Toliver, Jackson, Tenn..
Guy Russell Wilson
COURTLAND—Guy Russell Wilson, 82, died Friday, April 16, 2010.
Services were Saturday at Dickins Funeral Home. Burial was in Liberty Hill Cemetery.
Survivors include: his wife of 47 years, Betty Ragon Wilson of Courtland; two daughters, Becky Everette of Courtland and Gylia Devine of Saucier; two sons, William Dean Wilson and Jerry Wayne Davis, both of Courtland; four grandchildren and nine great grandchildren. He is preceded in death by his parents, Jim and Addie Lou Towles Wilson.
Memorials may be sent to Liberty Hill Church–Sandra Copeland, 747 Snider Rd., Pope, Miss. 38658.