Archives
 By  Staff Reports Published 
7:16 pm Tuesday, July 10, 2001

OBITUARIES FOR TUESDAY, JULY 10, 2001

By Staff
Other survivors include a brother, Oliver G. Thomas and his wife, Sina, of Newton; three sisters-in-law, Mary Etta Coker of Satsuma, Ala., Annie Coker Hill of Spanish Fort, Ala., and Helen Moore of Ellisville; seven step-grandchildren and their spouses, Cynda Gibbon Barfield and Whit Barfield of Baton Rouge, Rita Gibbon of Birmingham, Cheryl Gibbon DuBose and Phillip DuBose of Collierville, Tenn., Keith and Judy Gibbon of Newton, Roger Estes, Gaylon Estes and Durwin Estes, all of Nashville; a step-daughter-in-law by marriage, Sandra Gibbon (widow of Bryan Gibbon) of the Hero Community; and her step-great-grandchildren, Tamilia Gibbon Godwin and her husband, Roger, of Newton, Kerry Gibbon Hutchinson and her husband, Matt, of Meridian, Stephanie Gibbon Brown and her husband, Eric, of Mendenhall, Brandon and Cameron Estes of Nashville, Trea Barfield of Baton Rouge, Matt and Seth Gibbon of Newton and Wayne and Amy Johnson of Brandon.
Nieces and their families include, June Dale Thomas Jones and her husband, J.T. Jones Jr., of Ellisville, Betty Jean Thomas Kruk of Carson City, Nev. and Patsy Rainer Holtz of Heber Springs, Ark.
Nephews and their families include, Pepper Thomas and his wife, Juanita, of Oxford, Milton Thomas and his wife, Patsy, of Jackson, Clarence Rainer and his wife, Bessie, of Columbus, Texas, Johnny Rainer of Wharton, Texas, and Jimmy Rainer and Linda Rainer of Phoenix, Ariz. Several cousins in the Newton area and other areas of Mississippi also survive her.
She was preceded in death by her parents; her first husband, Luther Hamilton Hopkins; her second husband, Otho Coker; a brother, James Wesley Thomas; a sister, Colleen Thomas Rainer; her step-son-in-law, Billy Estes; a step-grandson, Bryan Gibbon; a sister-in-law, Imogene Thomas; a nephew, Hopper Thomas; and a nephew by marriage, Leonard Kruk.
Pallbearers will be Milton T. Thomas, Clarence Rainer, David Jones, Johnny Rainer, Pepper Thomas and Jeff Rainer.
Honorary pallbearers will be J.T. Jones Jr., Billy Gibbon, Keith Gibbon, Durwin Estes, Gaylon Estes and Hillard Thomas.
Visitation will be Wednesday from 5 p.m.-7 p.m. at the funeral home and one hour prior to the service on Thursday.
JOSEPH LLOYD GREGG JR.
Retired plastics engineer
Services for Joseph Lloyd Gregg Jr. will be held Thursday at 2:30 p.m. at Biloxi National Cemetery with a Navy Chaplain officiating. Stephens Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
Mr. Gregg, 81, of Lauderdale, died Saturday, July 7, 2001, at Rush Foundation Hospital. He was a Pearl Harbor survivor, serving aboard the USS Farragut. He participated in the first Doolittle Raid in World War II.
Survivors include his wife, Dolores Cole Gregg of Lauderdale; six sons, David Heisey and his wife, Patricia, of Lauderdale, James Lloyd Gregg of Seattle, Wash., Glenn Heisey of Wooddale, Ill., Daniel Heisey of Florida, Jeffrey Allen Gregg of Kalamazoo, Mich. and Christopher Coats Heisey of Hendersonville, N.C.; grandchildren, Adrianne Heisey, Robert Lloyd Heisey, Courtney Lynn Gregg, Sarah Brown, Sabrina Brown Moore, Joseph Brown, Darren Heisey, Danay Heisey, Krista O'Roake, Michelle Gregg and Mitchell Gregg; a sister, Bette Lou Wehmeyer of Dayton, Ohio; and seven great-grandchildren.
Pallbearers will be Navy personnel.
Visitation will be Wednesday from 5 p.m.-7 p.m. at the funeral home.
JANIS L. BOSTON
Retired State of Mississippi employee
Services for Janis L. "Blue Eyes" Boston will be held Friday at 1 p.m. at Berry and Gardner Funeral Home with the Rev. W.C. Brown officiating. Burial will be in Daleville Cemetery with Berry and Gardner Funeral Home in charge of arrangements.
Mrs. Boston, 48, of Meridian, died Friday, July 6, 2001, at Jeff Anderson Regional Medical Center.
Survivors include her husband, Carl W. Boston, two daughters, Melanye Boston and Carla Michelle Boston, her mother, Nazie Williams, and her stepfather, the Rev. L.V. Williams, all of Meridian; two sisters, Vettys Lofton of Toomsuba and Katie Wilson of Meridian; a brother, Robert Barfield Sr. of Hattiesburg; and a grandson.
Visitation will be Thursday from 7 p.m.-8 p.m. at the funeral home.
VALLEY CHAPMAN
Arrangements were incomplete at Berry and Gardner Funeral Home for Valley Chapman, of Enterprise, who died Monday, July 9, 2001, in his home.
NINA B. BOOKER
Arrangements were incomplete at James F. Webb Funeral Home for Nina B. Booker, 97, of Meridian, who died Monday, July 9, 2001, at Queen City Nursing Center.
DENNIS HAYES JR.
Arrangements were incomplete at Clark's Memorial Funeral Home for Dennis Hayes Jr., 65, of Meridian, who died Monday, July 9, 2001, at Oakwood Home for the Elderly in Bastrop, La.
NANCY COOPER
Arrangements were incomplete at James F. Webb Funeral Home for Nancy Cooper, 70, of Jackson, who died Tuesday, July 10, 2001, at Guardian Angel Hospice.

Also on Franklin County Times
Roberts pleads not guilty to 106 counts
Main, News, Russellville
By Brady Petree For the FCT 
July 8, 2026
RUSSELLVILLE — A Georgia woman facing 106 counts ranging from possession of child pornography to first-degree sodomy has pleaded not guilty to the cha...
Ex-mayor Oliver, 82, dies
Franklin County, Main, News, ...
María Camp maria.camp@franklincountytimes.com 
July 8, 2026
Former Russellville mayor and retired U.S. Army National Guard Major General Troy Oliver, 82, a 1961 graduate of Belgreen High School, died Saturday. ...
Patriotic banner donated to Tharptown VFD
Main, News, Russellville, ...
María Camp maria.camp@franklincountytimes.com 
July 8, 2026
R U S S E L L V I L L E — Lottie Coan, who has served as secretary- treasurer for the Tharptown Volunteer Fire Department since 2015, was sitting in h...
Miller Family Dairy opens processing facility
Features, Main, News, ...
By Addi Broadfoot For the FCT 
July 8, 2026
CROOKED OAK — Miller Family Dairy unveiled its new milk processing facility June 30, bringing the business one step closer to bottling its own milk, p...
Great Pretenders take stage July 16
Columnists, News, Opinion
HERE AND NOW
July 8, 2026
Each summer, the W.C. Handy Music Festival brings outstanding music and entertainment to communities across the Shoals. For more than four decades, th...
DAR chapter unearths patriot’s story
Franklin County, News
Chelsea Retherford For the FCT 
July 8, 2026
In a forgotten patch of woods on a farm near Cloverdale, history had lain hidden for generations. It took a determined group of local historians, gene...
Hartley shares her ancestor’s legacy
News
By Chelsea Retherford Staff Writer 
July 8, 2026
Patricia Hartley has always felt a strong sense of patriotism and duty to community and family. It was only recently that she discovered those were fa...

Leave a Reply

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