Obituaries for Saturday, March 29, 2003

By Staff
Retired
PHILADELPHIA Services for Odie J. Spears will be held today at 11 a.m. at McClain-Hays Funeral Service Chapel with the Revs. Tommy Anderson and Stanley Barnett officiating. Burial will be in Linwood Cemetery in Neshoba County.
Mr. Spears, 96, of Philadelphia, died Thursday, March 27, 2003, at Neshoba County Nursing Home in Philadelphia. He was retired from Molpus Lumber Co.
Survivors include his wife, Corrie Spears of Union; daughters, Kate Tisdale, Helen Guthrie and Carolyn Chunn, all of Philadelphia, and Frances Rainer of Florence; sons, Odie J. "Bud" Spears Jr. and Jackie Spears, both of Union; 11 grandchildren; 25 great-grandchildren; nine great-great-grandchildren; and and sisters, Lindy Boler of Union and Myrtis Crenshaw of Ashville, Ala.
SEBASTOPOL Services for Athen Johnson Sr. will be held today at 3 p.m. at Macedonia Baptist Church in Conehatta with the Revs. Calvin Gibson and Thomas Ben Jr. officiating. Burial will be in the church cemetery. Milling Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
Mr. Johnson, 85, of Philadelphia, died Wednesday, March 26, 2003, at Jeff Anderson Medical Center.
Survivors include his son, Athen Johnson Jr. of Tuscon, Ariz.; a daughter, Miranda Johnson of Walnut Grove; step-sons, Jeffery Hickman of Sebastopol and Roger Hickman and Darryl Hickman, both of Philadelphia; step-daughters, Deborah Bell of Walnut Grove and Sylvia Wimberly of Macon, Ga.; and several nieces, nephews and step-grandchildren.
Retired nurses aid
PHILADELPHIA Services for Josephine Sullivan Creekmore will be held today at 3:30 p.m. at McClain-Hays Funeral Service Chapel with the Revs. Mark Cloys and Mike Smithey officiating. Burial will be in Cederlawn Cemetery in Philadelphia.
Mrs. Creekmore, 95, of DeKalb, died Friday, March 28, 2003, at Mississippi Care Center of DeKalb.
Survivors include a sister, Willie Lee Irons of Philadelphia and several nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her husband, Otis Tom Creekmore, in 1977.
Retired
PHILADELPHIA Services for Margaret W. Rogers will be held today at 2 p.m. at McClain-Hays Funeral Services Chapel with the Revs. Steve Spining and Mike Ingram officiating. Burial will be in Good Hope Cemetery in Winston County.
Mrs. Rogers, 64, of Grand Bay, Ala., died Thursday, March 27, 2003, at Mobile Infirmary. She was a retired division manager for Sears Retail Sales.
Survivors include her husband, Ralph Rogers of Grand Bay; daughters, Mona Wylie of Hernando and Wanda McKinley of Louisville; five grandchildren; sisters, Beatrice Martin of Norman, Okla., Mary Asken of Pearl and Betty Edmondson of Vardaman; brothers, Jack Williamson of Milan, Ill., and the Rev. Jerry Williamson of Madden; and several other relatives and friends.
PHILADELPHIA Services for Rex Turner Bell will be held Sunday at 2 p.m. at Bogue Chitto Baptist Church with the Revs. Charles Doby Henry and Glenn Bell officiating. Burial will be in the Community Cemetery in Bogue Chitto. Milling Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
Mr. Bell, 35, of Cleveland, Ohio, died Tuesday, March 25, 2003, at his home.
Survivors include his brothers, Norman Gibson of Philadelphia, Raymond Bell of Cleveland, Ohio and Don Gibson of Walnut Grove; a daughter, Venessa Ray Bell and a son, Nathaniel Royce Bell, both of Ohio; five aunts, two uncles, and several nieces and nephews.
He was preceded in death by his mother, Sarah Bell; his father, Hermon Bell and a brother, Thurman Bell Sr.
BUTLER, Ala. Services for Loy Elmo Reese will be held Sunday at 2 p.m. at Antioch Cemetery in Clarke County, Miss., with the Revs. Franklin McLelland and Bob Gosey officiating. Bumpers Funeral Home of Butler is in charge of arrangements.
Mr. Reese, 84, of Butler, died Thursday, March 27, 2003, at Sumter Health &Rehab in York. He was employed as a lineman by Transcontinental Gas Pipeline.
Survivors include his wife, Janie Reese of Butler; two sons, Neal Reese of Butler and Michael Reese of Greenwood, Pa.; two brothers, Ray Reese of Stonewall, Miss., and A.J. Reese of Quitman, Miss.; three sisters, Opal Graham and Nadine Scruggs, both of Meridian, Miss., and Janell Tomson of Chunky, Miss.; and a grandson, Kyle Reese.
Visitation is today from 6 p.m-8 p.m. at the funeral home.
Arrangements were incomplete at Clark's Memorial Funeral Home for Mary Davidson, 99, of Meridian, who died Friday, March 28, 2003, in her home.