Archives
 By  Staff Reports Published 
11:40 am Sunday, December 22, 2002

Obituaries for Sunday, Dec. 22, 2002

By Staff
DAISY MAE KEEN MCLEMORE
Homemaker
Services for Daisy Mae Keen McLemore were held Saturday at 11:30 a.m. at the James F. Webb Funeral Home Chapel with the Rev. Harold Scott officiating. Burial was in Magnolia Cemetery.
Mrs. McLemore, 97, of Vicksburg, died Thursday, Dec. 19, 2002, in Vicksburg. She was a former member of Oak Grove Baptist Church in Meridian. She taught the helping hands Sunday School Class for many years and was a member of the Bonita Garden Club and the Alphia Delphian Literary Club. She was the oldest of six children.
Survivors include a daughter, Sarian McLemore Hoxie of Vicksburg; a brother, James Keen of Lawrenceville, Ga.; three granddaughters, Susan Key and her husband, John, Ann Harris and her husband, David, and Elizabeth Joyner and her husband, Raymond; and five great-grandchildren, Kyra Key, Dallas Key, Catherine Harris, William Harris and Travis Joyner.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Reuben McLemore; and a son, Reuben S. McLemore; two brothers, Glen Keen and Guy Keen; and two sisters, Tommie Keen and Anne K. Dudley.
Pallbearers were Leon Pippin, Mac Parker, Larry Bane, Tommy Myers, Jerry Smith and Russell Carr.
MILDRED SCOTT HARRISON
Bookkeeper
BUTLER, Ala. Services for Mildred Scott Harrison will be held today at 2 p.m. at Rock Springs Baptist Church. Burial will be in Rock Springs Cemetery. Bumpers Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
Mrs. Harrison, 77, of Butler, died Friday, Dec. 20, 2002, at Rush Foundation Hospital in Meridian, Miss. She was a bookkeeper for Bedsole's Department Store.
Survivors include a daughter, Sherry H. Carney; a son, David Harrison; three sisters, Bonnie Manley and Louise Scott, all of Butler and Lovie Todd of Land; six grandchildren; and nine great-grandchildren.
LOYD GARDNER
Retired
SEBASTOPOL Services for Loyd Gardner will be held Monday at 11 a.m. at Milling Funeral Home Chapel in Sebastopol with the Rev. Jeff Gardner officiating. Burial will be in Mt. Nebo Church Cemetery in Collinsville.
Mr. Gardner, 71, of Sebastopol, died Saturday, Dec. 21, 2002, at St. Dominic Hospital in Jackson. He was a retired appliance repairman.
Survivors include his wife, Etoile Gardner; his stepchildren, David Shaw of Lake, Dianne Cumberland of Pearl, Sherry Kelly of Carthage, Denise Dooley of Albertville, Ala., Earl Shaw of Sebastopol, Betty DiPalma of Philadelphia and Norman Driskill of Collinsville; 12 step grandchildren; two step great-grandchildren; and two brothers, Tommy Gardner of Noxapator and Eugene Gardner of Palmetto, Ga.
He was preceded in death by his wife, Willie Faye Gardner; his mother, Elsie Gardner; his father, Robert Gardner; and a step granddaughter, Deanna Smythe.
Pallbearers will be Rance Kelly, Lee Gardner, T.L. Strickland, Sam Reed, Michael Holton and Adam Reed.
Visitation will be held today from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the funeral home.
GILBERT C. THOMAS
Truck driver
Services for Gilbert C. "Peter" Thomas will be held Monday at 2 p.m. at E.E. McDonald Community Chapel in Meridian with the Rev. J.T. McKenzie officiating. Burial will be in Calvary Hill Church Cemetery.
Mr. Thomas, 52, of Nashville, formerly of Meridian, died Saturday, Dec. 14, 2002, at the VA Medical Center in Nashville.
Survivors include six children, Sherry Gordon and her husband, Darrell, of Marion, Veronica Alexander and her husband, Harvey, of Atlanta, Tanya Thomas of Huntsville, Ala., Dexter Thomas and Detrick Thomas, both of Meridian, and J. Thomas of Nashville; six grandchildren; eight sisters, Ollie M. Irby, Lena P. Thomas, Rebecca Cole, Mary Crockett, Tina Cole and her husband, Ronnie, Romona Granger and her husband Anthony and Orie Bebley all of Meridian, and Jasmine Genus and her husband, Denzil, of Quantico, Va.; three brothers, Willie Calhoun and Melvin Burge, both of Meridian and Robert Walk of Kentucky; several aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, other relatives and friends.
He was preceded in death by his parents and three siblings.
JOHN WILLIAM CLARKE
Retired
Services for John William Clarke will be held Friday at 10 a.m. at St. Patrick Catholic Church with the Rev. Elvin Sunds officiating. Burial will be in Forest Lawn Cemetery. Barham Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
Mr. Clarke, 77, of Meridian, died Saturday, Dec. 21, 2002, at his home. He was retired from Roadway Express, a U.S. Navy veteran of World War II and a member of St. Patrick Catholic Church.
Survivors include his wife, Mary Clarke; a daughter, Nan Wade and her husband, Steve; two sons, Edward Clarke and his wife, Debora, all of Meridian and John P. Clarke and his wife, Linda, of Cincinnati; five grandchildren, Kristina Clarke, Jonathan Clarke, Leah Clarke, Hunter Clarke and Jennifer "Nikki" Olson; a brother, Richard W. Clarke of Cincinnati; and a daughter-in-law, Pam Clarke of Laurel.
He was preceded in death by a daughter, Debra Clarke; a son, Richard Clarke; and a brother, Gerald Clarke.
The family requests memorials be made to St. Patrick Catholic Church.
Visitation will be Thursday, from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the funeral home.
ADDIE SUE GARDNER
Arrangements were incomplete at Berry &Gardner Funeral Home for Addie Sue Gardner, 76, of Meridian, who died Saturday, Dec. 21, 2002, in Nashville, Tenn.
EDGAR B. PETTUS
Arrangements were incomplete at Clark's Memorial Funeral Home for Edgar B. Pettus, 85, of Scooba, who died Saturday, Dec. 21, 2002, at Rush Foundation Hospital.
LILLIE M. SCOTT
Arrangements were incomplete at E.E. McDonald Funeral Home for Lillie M. Scott, 87, of DeKalb, who died Saturday, Dec. 21, 2002, at Jeff Anderson Regional Medical Center.

Also on Franklin County Times
Gray named president of Red Bay, Helen Keller hospitals
Main, News, Red Bay
By Brady Petree For the FCT 
July 15, 2026
SHEFFIELD — Red Bay hospital will soon be under new leadership as Jeremy Gray, who has been hired as the new president of the Franklin County facility...
5 properties are designated nuisance
Main, News, Russellville, ...
María Camp maria.camp@franklincountytimes.com 
July 15, 2026
RUSSELLVILLE — Five properties within the city have been designated public nuisances, and city workers soon will begin tearing down a burnedout partia...
Condemned downtown building to be demolished, replaced
Main, News, Russellville, ...
María Camp maria.camp@franklincountytimes.com 
July 15, 2026
RUSSELLVILLE — The condemned building that used to house the Faith Mission Outreach will be demolished and a new structure rebuilt in its place. In an...
Jones says he’ll listen to Alabamians
Main, News
Bernie Delinski For the FCT 
July 15, 2026
SHEFFIELD — Democratic gubernatorial candidate Doug Jones shared a vision July 9 of an Alabama government who listens to its constituents and focuses ...
Stage being renovated for W.C. Handy Fest
News
By Ella Seaton For the FCT 
July 15, 2026
SHEFFIELD — Stage renovations at Riverfront Park face a fast-approaching completion deadline prior to the W.C. Handy Music Festival. With “Riverside J...
A $174M penalty families can’t afford
Columnists, News, Opinion
July 15, 2026
Recently, the federal government published “scores” that will determine how much each state will have to pay toward its SNAP program starting in 2027....
Friendships more precious as years pass
Columnists, Features, Lifestyles, ...
HERE AND NOW
July 15, 2026
Friends are wonderful gifts. Throughout different stages of life, friends serve as anchors, confidants and sources of strength. While many people come...
Sparks is youngest miracle worker yet
News
By Addi Broadfoots For the FCT 
July 15, 2026
For 65 years, audiences have watched the story of Helen Keller come to life on the outdoor stage behind Ivy Green in Tuscumbia. This summer, that trad...

Leave a Reply

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