Obituaries for Sunday, Jan. 26, 2003

By Staff
Dorothy Brown
Retired cook for Howard Johnson
Services for Dorothy Brown will be held Wednesday at 1 p.m., at St. James A.M.E. Church, with the Revs. Alfred Parnell and Johnny Baskin officiating. Burial will be in Meridian Memorial Park. Berry &Gardner Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
Mrs. Brown, 72, of Meridian, died Thursday, Jan. 23, 2003, at Rush Foundation Hospital.
Survivors include four daughters, Matthew McCray and Phyllis Mosely, both of Meridian, and Jacqueline Dewdney-Brown and Myrtle Brown, both of Jacksonville, Fla.; a sister Elouise Bellamy of Winter Haven, Fla.; and nine grandchildren and 17 great-grandchildren.
She was preceded in death by her husband and her parents.
Visitation will be Tuesday from 7 p.m.-8 p.m. at the funeral home.
Maxine W. Howard
Services for Maxine W. Howard will be held Monday at 10 a.m. at Barham Funeral Chapel with the Revs. Davey Wilkerson and Andy Ray officiating. Burial will be in Forest Lawn Cemetery.
Mrs. Howard, 45, of Toomsuba, died Friday, Jan. 24, 2003, at her home. She was a member of Chunky United Methodist Church and enjoyed gardening, family and friends.
Survivors include her husband, the Rev. Aubrey E. Howard, of Toomsuba; a son, Thomas Hawk and his wife, Marlene, of Rose Hill; grandchildren Thomas Wayne Hawk and Emily Maxine Hawk, her mother and father, Inez Hawk and Max Weldon; three brothers, Melvin Weldon and Louis Weldon of Yazoo County, and George Weldon of Dallas; and a number of nieces and nephews.
She was preceded in death by a son, Tony Adkins.
The family requests memorials be made to Lauderdale United Methodist Church or Chunky United Methodist Church.
Pallbearers will be Ricky Simmons, Jason Clark, Don Williams, Joe Clark, Richard Stamply, Peter Russell, Johnny Russell and John Clark.
George Albert Coleman
Partner in F.W. Williams State Agency in Meridian until 1971
Services for George Albert Coleman will be held Monday at 10 a.m. at James F. Webb Funeral Home Chapel, with the Rev. Raymond Leake officiating. Burial will be in Magnolia Cemetery.
Mr. Coleman, 99, of Meridian, died Saturday, Jan. 25, 2002, at his home. He was born in Citronnelle, Ala., Nov. 26, 1903.
He was a member of First Baptist Church, where he took great pleasure in tending to the rose garden. He would tend to the roses every Wednesday and Saturday so as they would look their best for the prayer meeting and worship services. He fulfilled this responsibility until he was 95 years old. He was an avid hunter and fisherman, enjoyed football, baseball and rose gardening.
Survivors include his daughter, Georgia Coleman Davis of Jackson; four grandchildren, George C. Mynatt of Berthoud, Colo., Ann D. Brumfield of Madison, Ben Arthur Davis III of Hover, Ala.; and Susan M. Watson of Walnut Ridge, Ark.; five great-grandchildren, Andrew, Mathew and Steven Watson, all of Walnut Ridge, and Ben C. and Lauren E. Davis of Hover.
He was preceded in death by his wife of 75 years, Ethel Miller Coleman, and a daughter, Betty Coleman Mynatt.
The family request memorials be made to first Baptist Church garden fund, 701 26th Ave., Meridian, MS 39301.
Visitation will be Monday one hour before the service at the funeral home.
Rita Joan Covert
Retired from an oil company
Services for Rita Joan Covert will be held Monday at 11 a.m. at St. Patrick Catholic Church, with the Rev. Elvin Sunds officiating. Burial will be in the church cemetery. Barham Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
Miss Covert, 72, of New Orleans, died Friday, Jan. 24, 2003, in New Orleans.
Survivors include a sister, Virginia C. Buchanan of Meridian, and a number of nieces and nephews.
She was preceded in death by her brothers, Louis Vally Covert and Conrad S. Covert.
The family request memorials be made to St. Patrick Church.
Visitation will be held one hour prior to the service at the church.
Mary Ellen Kile
QUITMAN Services for Mary Ellen Kile will be held Monday at 11 a.m. at Wright's Funeral Home Chapel with the Rev. C.A. Farmer officiating. Burial will be in Archusa Memorial Gardens.
Mrs. Kile, 87, of Quitman, died Friday, Jan. 24, 2003, at H.C. Watkins Hospital in Quitman.
Survivors include her daughters, Marsha Kile of Wichita, Kan., Mary Knight of Quitman, Vada Allen of Brentwood, Tenn.; brothers Joe Record of Enid, Okla., and R.C. Record of Las Vegas; six grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren.
Visitation will be today from 5 p.m.-8 p.m. at the funeral home.
Thomas Earl Cardwell
Truck driver
Graveside services for Thomas Earl Cardwell will be held Monday at 1:30 p.m. at Meridian Memorial Park Cemetery, with the Rev. Chuck Overby officiating. Stephens Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
Mr. Cardwell, 53, of Meridian, died Friday, Jan. 17, 2003, at his home.
Survivors include his wife, Donna R. Cardwell; children, Jessica Cardwell, Virginia Marie Cardwell, Olivia May Cardwell, Thomas Logan Cardwell, Austin Wade Cardwell and Clinton Brock Reynolds, all of Meridian; two sisters, Marie Hammond of Jackson, and Patricia Gordon of Bakersville, Calif.; two brothers, Robert Ryals of Jackson and Steve Mitchell of Gulfport; and his mother, Edna Earl Johnson of Pearl.
Visitation will be Monday from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. at the funeral home.
Laura Moore
Services for Laura Moore will be held Tuesday at 11 a.m. at E.E. McDonald Community Chapel, with the Rev. Monroe Meadowbrook officiating. Burial will be in Mt. Zion Moscow Church Cemetery in DeKalb.
Mrs. Moore, 83, formerly of Meridian and of Lakeside Living Center in Quitman, died Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2003, at H.C. Watkins Hospital in Quitman.
Survivors include her three children, Richard Moore Sr. and his wife, Bernice, and Eula Mae Williams, all of Meridian, and William H. Moore and his wife, Beatrice, of Sandusky, Ohio; 36 grandchildren; 40 great-grandchildren; and a number of relatives and friends.
She was preceded in death by her husband.
Visitation will be from 1 p.m.-6 p.m. at the funeral chapel.
Jean Nelson Williams
Jean Nelson Williams, 77, died Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2003, at her daughter's home after an extended illness. The funeral service was held Friday at McClain-Hays Funeral Home in Philadelphia. Dr. Jim Shull officiated.
Mrs. Williams was born on Aug. 30, 1925, in Moss Point. She attended Auburn University, where she was a member of the Chi Omega sorority. She earned a degree from Auburn in 1947.
She married George James Williams on Dec. 30, 1947, and eventually moved to Philadelphia in 1962. Mrs. Williams was a member of First Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia. She had a strong Christian faith, which sustained her, not only through her illness, but throughout her life. Deeply devoted to her family, Mrs. Williams is survived by her husband, George Williams; three children, Kay Hamill, Bill Williams and Jamie Rebentisch; nine grandchildren; one great-grandchild; a sister, Joan Head of Moss Point; and a brother, Graham Nelson of San Antonio, Texas.
The family requests that memorials be made to the following charities: Palmer Home for Children, P.O. Box 746, Columbus, MS 39703; French Camp Academy, One Fine Place, French Camp, MS 39745; or Sta-Home Hospice, P.O. Drawer 595, Carthage, MS 39051.
Jessie "Sonny" Sherfield
Arrangements were incomplete at E.E. McDonald Funeral Home for Jessie "Sonny" Sherfield, 53, of Meridian, who died Friday, Jan. 24, 2003, at his home.