Archives
 By  Staff Reports Published 
9:44 am Friday, April 26, 2002

Obituaries for Friday, April 26, 2002

By Staff
JEWEL GIBSON BRAND
Homemaker
NEWTON Services for Jewel Gibson Brand will be held today at 2 p.m. at James F. Webb Funeral Home Chapel with the Revs. Rodney Anderson and Paul Oglesbee officiating. Burial will be in Hickory Cemetery.
Mrs. Brand, 91, of Hickory, died Wednesday, April 24, 2002, at Laird's Hospital in Union. She was a member of Hickory Baptist Church and the Hickory Garden and Reading Club.
Survivors include two daughters, Mary Oglesbee and her husband, Paul, of Diamond Head; and Mollie Brooks and her husband, Billy, of Chunky; a son, Troy Brand Jr. and his wife, Billie, of Hickory; 12 grandchildren, 23 great-grandchildren and two great-great-grandchildren.
She was preceded in death her husband, William Troy Brand Sr., her parents, Bob and Susie Hamrick Gibson, and two brothers, Robert and Emmitt Gibson.
Pallbearers will be Bill Johnson Jr., Paul Oglesbee III, Ken Oglesbee, Bill Brand, Barry Brand and Ken Morgan.
Visitation will be today from 9 a.m. – 2 p.m. at the funeral home.
DOROTHY TOWNSEND CRAWFORD
Beautician
PHILADELPHIA Services for Dorothy Townsend Crawford will be held Saturday at 10 a.m. at John E. Stephens Funeral Home Chapel with the Rev. Stanley Barnett officiating. Burial will be in Cedarlawn Cemetery.
Ms. Crawford, 75, of Pascagoula, died Thursday, April 25, 2002, at Chateau Deville Nursing Home in Pascagoula.
Survivors include her son, M. Craig Crawford and her sister, Juanita Thibault, both of Pascagoula; and Maurice Townsend of Albuquerque, N.M.
Visitation will be today from 5 p.m. – 8 p.m. at the funeral home.
MARY ALICE MEADOR WAINRIGHT
Salesperson, cashier
BUTLER, Ala. Services for Mary Alice "T-Baby" Meador Wainright will be held Saturday at 11 a.m. at First United Methodist Church with the Rev. Gary Williams officiating. Burial will be in Butler City Cemetery with Bumpers Funeral Home in charge of arrangements.
Mrs. Wainright, 82, of Butler, died Thursday, April 25, 2002, at Rush Foundation Hospital.
Survivors include three daughters, Jo Ann Huddleston of Birmingham; Sandra Roberts of Butler; and Cora Smith of Selma; two sisters, Louise Cruit of New Orleans; and Marguerite Moody of Butler; two brothers, Jimmy Meador of St. Louis.; and Morris Meador of Jachin; four grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.
Visitation will be held today from 6 p.m.-8 p.m. at the funeral home.
LEON HOPSON JR.
Logger
DeKalb Services for Leon "Sonny" Hopson Jr. will be held Saturday at 2 p.m. at Mt. Cephus Primitive Baptist Church in Porterville with the Rev. Leslie Jackson officiating. Burial will be in the church cemetery with E.E. McDonald Funeral Home in charge of arrangements.
Mr. Hopson, 46, of Porterville, died Tuesday, April 23, 2002, in Daleville.
Survivors include his wife, Shirley V. Hopson, three children, Terronne, Kenisha and Sharonda Hopson, all of Porterville; his father, L.T. "Hook" Hopson of Porterville; four sisters, Lula Welch, Rosie Nelson and her husband, Tommy, Shirley Roberts and her husband, Fredrick, and Catherine Price and her husband, Otto, all of Jacksonville, Fla.; eight brothers, Gatherie Hopson, William "Danny" Hopson, John Frank Hopson and his wife, Trudy, and Donald Ray Hopson and his wife, Dr. Myako McCloud, all of Meridian; Willie C. Greer of Lauderdale; Larry Earl Hopson and his wife, Bobbie, Larry George Hopson and his wife, Alice, and Tommy Earl Hopson and his wife, Stephanie, all of Jacksonville; several nieces, nephews and other relatives and friends.
He was preceded in death by his mother.
Visitation will be held today from 7 p.m. – 8 p.m. at the funeral home.
ALBIRDA BLAKNEY
DEKALB Services for Albirda "Holliday" Blakney will be held Sunday at 2 p.m. at Pleasant Grove Baptist Church in DeKalb with the Rev. Weldon Short officiating. Burial will be in the church cemetery with E.E. McDonald Funeral Home in charge of arrangements.
Mrs. Blakney, 78, of Meridian, died Wednesday, April 24, 2002, at Guardian Angel Hospice of Marion.
Survivors include two daughters, Katie Neely and Dorothy Neely, both of Meridian; six grandchildren, eight great-grandchildren, three sisters, Jean Thomas and Ina Seals, both of Douglas, Ga.; Maeodia McCullum and her husband, Peter, of Milwaukee; two brothers, Leo Holliday and his wife, Rosie, and Edward Holliday and his wife, Florene, all of DeKalb; several nieces and nephews, other relatives and friends.
She was preceded in death by her husband.
Visitation will be held Saturday from 7 p.m. – 8 p.m. at the funeral home.
BILLIE RAY WASH
Arrangements were incomplete at Barham Funeral Home for Billie Ray Wash, 72, who died Thursday, April, 25, 2002 at Carraway Hospital in Birmingham, Ala.

Also on Franklin County Times
$5M is secured for I-22 connector studies
Main, News, Phil Campbell, ...
María Camp maria.camp@franklincountytimes.com 
June 3, 2026
PHIL CAMPBELL — A $5 million federal earmark has been secured for engineering and environmental studies tied to the long-discussed Haleyville bypass p...
Ayers hired as RCS assistant superintendent
Main, News, Russellville, ...
By Brady Petree For the FCT 
June 3, 2026
RUSSELLVILLE — The city schools board of education has hired Nate Ayers as the system’s next assistant superintendent. Ayers’ hiring was approved by b...
Reserve deputies provide manpower where needed
Main, News, Russellville, ...
By Addi Broadfoot Staff Writer 
June 3, 2026
RUSSELLVILLE — A group of volunteers dedicating their time to help local law enforcement is playing crucial roles ranging from courthouse security to ...
Search for executive director begins soon
Franklin County, News
Bernie Delinski For the FCT 
June 3, 2026
TUSCUMBIA — The board overseeing the Alabama Music Hall of Fame has established procedures for selecting a new executive director. The position has be...
Cultura Garden Club celebrates America 250
Editorials, News, Opinion
HERE AND NOW
June 3, 2026
Cultura Garden Club members gathered in red, white and blue for their May meeting at the scenic home of Ann Marie Bucholtz in Phil Campbell, and welco...
The world needs some family values
Columnists, Opinion
June 3, 2026
Far out in Colbert County in an area near Cherokee called Freedom Hills, my parents, Dewey and Lillie Mae Denton, scratched out a life from a small cr...
Tharptown names Burkett baseball coach
High School Sports, Russellville Golden Tigers, Sports
María Camp maria.camp@franklincountytimes.com 
June 3, 2026
RUSSELLVILLE — Becoming Tharptown High’s head baseball coach is the culmination of a goal that was years in the making for Michael Burkett. Burkett jo...

Leave a Reply

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