Archives
 By  Staff Reports Published 
2:08 pm Monday, January 8, 2001

OBITUARIES FOR MONDAY, JAN. 8, 2001

By Staff
ANN B. SPEED
Services for Ann B. Speed will be held today at 11 a.m. at Central United Methodist Church with the Revs. Tommy D. Gilbert and Charles W. "Nick" Nicholson Sr. officiating with special music by Liz Marchese as vocalist. Burial will be in Magnolia Cemetery with Stephens Funeral Home in charge of arrangements.
Mrs. Speed, 84, of Meridian, died Saturday, Jan. 6, 2001. She was born in Meridian, where she lived until 1950 when she and her husband, banker J.M. "Buck" Speed, moved to Carthage. Following his retirement from The Carthage Bank, they resided in Jackson and Union before returning to Meridian.
Survivors include a son, Marvin B. "Marc" Speed and his wife, Kelli; her daughter-in-law, Susan Speed of Meridian; a brother, Preston P. "Pep" Bennett and his wife, Gene Elizabeth of Clarksdale; sisters-in-law, Jane H. Bennett and Elsie V. Bennett; seven grandchildren, Celia S. Boisfontaine and her husband, Curt, Margaret Speed, James Thomas "Tom" Speed Jr. and his wife, Elizabeth, S. Carter Speed, and his wife, Lea, Holley G. Speed, Susannah B. Speed and Preston R. "Pep" Speed; two great-grandchildren, Mary Terral Boisfontaine and Carter Rich Boisfontaine; and numerous nieces and nephews.
She was preceded in death by her parents, Dr. James Bennett and Annie Hackett Bennett; her brothers, John D. Bennett, James Bennett Jr., Dr. Hackett Bennett and Gardner Bennett; her husband, J.M. "Buck" Speed; her stepson, James T. "Jim" Speed and his wife, Mary Carter Speed.
Pallbearers include James Bennett III, Thomas G. Bennett, James H. Bennett, Wade Richard Bennett, Dr. John Paul Lee, Jerry S. Lee, David F. Speed, John P. Speed, Frank W. Bowen Jr., Jack J. Mann Jr. and James E. Smith Jr.
DR. J.W. PRICE
Retired dentist
Services for Dr. J.W. Price will be held today at 11:30 a.m. at Barham Funeral Home Chapel with the Rev. Ken Patterson officiating. Burial will be in Magnolia Cemetery.
Dr. Price, 80, of Meridian, died Saturday, Jan. 6, 2001, in his home. A graduate of the University of Tennessee Dental School, he practiced dentistry in Meridian for more than 43 years. He was a member of Fifteenth Avenue Baptist Church and an avid fisherman. He was a U.S. Army veteran of World War II, where he served as an Army medic through five European Theater Campaigns including the Battle of the Bulge. He was also a veteran of the Korean War as a dental officer at Fort Bragg, N.C.
Survivors include his wife of 57 years, Junie Johnston Price of Meridian; two daughters, Ingrid Price and her husband, Carroll, of Meridian, and Glenda Pruett and her husband, Wayne, of Oxford; a son, Rick Price and his wife, Elise, of Lawrenceville, Ga.; a brother, Marzine Price of Dixon; seven grandchildren, Shannon Cleveland and her husband, Mike, Chris Price and his wife, Dee Dee, C.W., Francie and Kaytee Pruett, and Laura and Sarah Price; and two great-grandchildren, Hannah and Sierra Cleveland.
He was preceded in death by his parents, John and Katie Price, and a brother, Howard Price.
Pallbearers include Christopher Price, C.W. Pruett, Mike Cleveland, L.N. Rhodes, Bobby Price and Kem McEntyre. Honorary pallbearers include Luther Price, Philip Price and Charlie Bancroft.
JONELL L. PERRY
PHILADELPHIA Services for JoNell L. Perry will be held today at 11 a.m. at McClain-Hays Funeral Service Chapel with the Rev. Dan Howard officiating. Burial will be in Cedar Lawn Cemetery.
Miss Perry, 71, of Marion, died Saturday, Jan. 6, 2001, at Benchmark Health Care. She was a native of Neshoba County and had been a resident of Benchmark Health Care in Marion since 1987. She attended Stewart's Home School in Frankfort, Ky. for several years. She was a musician and loved people. She was a member of the Baptist faith.
Survivors include her sister, Opal Yates, two brothers, Marion Perry and Glenn Perry, all of Philadelphia; and several nieces and nephews.
LORETTA JOHNSON
Retired seamstress for Wells Lamont
PHILADELPHIA Services for Loretta Johnson will be held today at 2 p.m. at Spring Creek Baptist Church with the Revs. Wayne King and Hugh Martin officiating. Burial will be in Spring Creek Cemetery with McClain-Hays Funeral Service in charge of arrangements.
Mrs. Johnson, 85, of Philadelphia, died Saturday, Jan. 6, 2001, at Leake Memorial Hospital in Carthage.
Survivors include two daughters, Cora Frances Brooks of Lucedale and Janice Schreiner of Mobile, Ala.; a son, Loyd Crockett Johnson of Charleston, S.C.; two sisters, Laurine Johnson of Philadelphia and Elcanor Burt of Chicago; seven grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Crockett Johnson.
BOBBYE NELL TUCKER
Registered nurse
Services for Bobbye Nell Tucker will be held
Tuesday at 10 a.m. at Druid Hills United Methodist Church with the Rev. Edward Saunders officiating. Burial will be in Mt. Zion Congregational Methodist Cemetery in Union with Stephens Funeral Home in charge of arrangements.
Mrs. Tucker, 68, of Meridian, died Saturday, Jan. 6, 2001, at Riley Hospital. She was a member of Druid Hills United Methodist Church Sunday School Class and an avid member of the Meridian Duplicate Bridge Club which she enjoyed very much.
Survivors include two daughters, Kimberly Pfennigs of Colorado Springs, Colo., and Kathryn Dread of Jonesboro, Ill.; three brothers, John Blount of Decatur, Bill Blount of Laurel and Charles Blount of Jackson; two sisters, Mary Logan of Newton and Doloros Thomas of Decatur; a sister-in-law and her closest companion, Lillian McMullan of Meridian; six grandchildren and several nieces and nephews.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Robert A. Tucker.
The family requests memorials be made to Druid Hills United Methodist Church Building Fund, 3309 54th Place, Meridian, MS 39307.
Pallbearers will be Richard Smith, Mike Blount, Dean Blount and Kip Logan.

Also on Franklin County Times
Wife, 65, admits she shot, killed husband
Main, News, Russellville, ...
Kevin Taylor For the FCT 
May 13, 2026
RUSSELLVILLE – A 65-year-old woman is facing a murder charge after she admitted to shooting her husband Sunday evening inside their residence on Dunca...
3 firefighters receive Lifesaver Awards
Main, News, Russellville, ...
María Camp maria.camp@franklincountytimes.com 
May 13, 2026
RUSSELLVILLE — More than two months after city firefighters responded to a cardiac arrest call that left Steven Bledsoe without a pulse for 27 minutes...
FBLA students earn honors at state
News, Phil Campbell, Records
María Camp maria.camp@franklincountytimes.com 
May 13, 2026
PHIL CAMPBELL — Members of the Phil Campbell High School Future Business Leaders of America chapter earned honors during the Alabama FBLA State Leader...
Obituaries
Obituaries
May 13, 2026
Ruth E. Spooner May 7, 2026   Ruth E. Spooner, 90, of Beloit, Wis., passed away on Thursday morning, May 7, at Cedar Crest, in Janesville, Wis. She wa...
The protection system you’ve never heard of
Columnists, Opinion
May 13, 2026
When you visit a doctor, you might notice the framed medical license on the wall. For most patients, that document is simply reassurance that their ph...
Retired educators hear state updates
Columnists, News, Opinion, ...
HERE AND NOW
May 13, 2026
Retired educators met at the Russellville First Methodist Church Ministry Center for the last meeting for the Franklin County Retired Educators Associ...
Students get life lessons with hatching classes
News, Phil Campbell
María Camp maria.camp@franklincountytimes.com 
May 13, 2026
PHIL CAMPBELL — Students at Phil Campbell Elementary School and Phil Campbell High School recently got some handson lessons about animal life cycles a...
STEAM expo highlights student projects
News, Russellville
María Camp maria.camp@franklincountytimes.com 
May 13, 2026
RUSSELLVILLE – Middle school students in sixth, seventh and eighth grade presented the findings of their STEAM Expo projects last week. From testing w...

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *