Obituaries for Tuesday, Oct. 14, 2003

By Staff
Retired City of Brooksville employee
COLUMBUS Services for Henry Lavert Wright will be held today at 11 a.m. at Memorial Funeral Home Chapel with the Revs. Curtis Bray, Dr. Walt Porter and Dale Glenn officiating. Burial will be in Brooksville Cemetery.
Mr. Wright, 78, of Brooksville, died Sunday, Oct. 12, 2003, in Baptist Memorial Hospital-Golden Triangle in Columbus. He was a veteran of the U.S. Army Medical Corps and served in World War II and was in the Battle of the Bulge.
Survivors include his daughters, Elizabeth L. Wright, Lucretia W. Cole and Becky W. Butler and her husband, Bill, all of Brooksville; four grandchildren; two great-grandchildren; sisters, Elaine McDill and her husband, Homer, of Ethelsville, Ala., Linda Thompson and Faye Smith and her husband, Steve, all of Decatur; a brother, Gene Wright and his wife, Pat, of Brooksville; and several nieces and nephews.
Visitation will be 9 a.m.-11 a.m. at the funeral home.
Retired
Graveside services for Billie E. Reed will be held Wednesday at 11 a.m. at Center Ridge Cemetery in Kemper County with the Rev. Chuck Overby officiating. Barham Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
Mr. Reed, 73, of Meridian, died Monday, Oct. 13, 2003, at Heartfelt Hospice. He was a retired taxi driver and former member of the Auxiliary Police. He was a member of Calvary Tabernacle Church.
Survivors include his sons, Earl H. Reed and his wife, Patricia, and Mark H. Reed, all of Meridian; a daughter, Nellie Mae Burch and her husband, Timothy, of Porterville; grandchildren, James Earl Reed, Joshua David Burch and Brittany Nicole Burch; brothers, Frank Reed of Meridian, Fred Reed of South Carolina and Ronnie Reed of Texas; sisters, Dolly Kilpatrick and Hazel Sullivan, both of Meridian and Janette Wright of Florida.
He was preceded in death by his wife, Lois Dean Reed; brothers, Vester Reed and Bobby Reed Sr. and sisters, Gladys Eaves and Sis Jones.
Memorials may be made to the family at P.O. Box 98, Marion, MS 39342.
Pallbearers will be Albert Reed, Richard Reed, Edward Reed, Danny Kilgore, Clyde Reed and Chuck Gray.
Visitation will be Wednesday 9:30 a.m.-10:30 a.m. at the funeral home.
International offshoreman
QUITMAN Services for Millard Howell will be held Wednesday at 2 p.m. at Wright's Funeral Home Chapel with the Revs. Terry Steppe and Paul Quinn officiating. Burial will be in Bethany Baptist Church Cemetery in Whynot.
Mr. Howell, 76, of Enterprise, died Friday, Oct. 10, 2003, in his home. He was a veteran of the U.S. Army.
Survivors include his wife, Ruth Howell of Enterprise; sons, Millard Howell Jr. of Houston, Texas and David Miles of Bogata, Texas; brothers, Tommy Howell and Cory Howell, both of St. Petersburg, Fla.; eight grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
Visitation will be today 5:30 p.m.-9 p.m. at the funeral home.
Retired Perry Construction Owner
PHILADELPHIA Services for Marion Walter Perry will be held Wednesday at 2 p.m. at First Baptist Church of Philadelphia with the Rev. Dr. Roger Paynter officiating. Burial will be in Cedarlawn Cemetery. McClain-Hays Funeral Service is in charge of arrangements.
Mr. Perry, 92, of Philadelphia, died Monday, Oct. 13, 2003, in his home. He was born the son of Walter Lafayette and Joyce Lavenia Perry. He grew up in Philadelphia, graduating as valedictorian at Philadelphia High School in 1928. He received his B.A. from Mississippi College where he graduated with special distinction in 1932. After graduation he returned to Neshoba County where with his father, he organized Perry Construction Company, which still continues in operation.
In Philadelphia he married Effie Elaine McDonald who was then a teacher in Philadelphia. They celebrated their 66th anniversary in June 2002.
In addition to serving as president of Perry Construction Company until his retirement in 1995, he served over the years as president of Security Insurance Agency, chairman of the board of Bank of Philadelphia, and as director of Mississippi Steel Corp. and Magna Corp. Over the years, he was involved in a wide range of business enterprises including cattle operations, timber farming, oil and gas exploration, automobile dealerships and real estate.
He was a longtime active supporter of Mississippi College. Mr. Perry served as a member of the board of trustees and director of the annual campaign of M.C. He established the Perry Gold Medal Academic Awards, the J.D. and Bertha McDonald Scholarship Fund, and the Perry Endowment Fund for Merit Scholarships. Marion and Effie were selected as Alumni of the Year in 1987.
He was a member of First Baptist Church of Philadelphia and served as deacon from 1937-1974, except for sabbatical years. He often served as chairman of the deacon board, Sunday school director and as a member of many committees including the building committee and the Boy Scout committee. He taught the men's Sunday school class for many years, beginning in the 1930's until he finally retired in the early 1990's.
He served as vice-president of the Mississippi Baptist Convention in 1954-55, as a member of the Convention Board, and on various committees of the Convention including special committees that led to the acquisition of Kittiwake and Gulf Coast Assembly properties and the construction of a church building for the Choctaw Indians.
He was active in supporting the Boy Scouts, and received the Scouter's Award in 1964. Marion also served as a member of the State Board of Public Contractors and the Philadelphia Board of Utilities.
Marion and Effie enjoyed growing vegetables, roses and other flowers, and shared them with their friends.
Survivors include his sons, Don Perry and his wife, Evelyn, of Philadelphia, Alan Perry and his wife, Anne, of Jackson; grandchildren, Lucy Perry of Berkeley, Calif., Paul Perry of Jackson, Julie Perry of Corvallis, Ore., Candace Lyn Perry of Jackson, and Amy Perry of New York, N.Y.; a brother, Glenn Perry and a sister, Opal Yates, both of Philadelphia.
He was preceded in death by his wife, Effie Elaine McDonald Perry.
Memorials may be made to the Perry Scholarship Fund at Mississippi College.
Pallbearers will be Everett Cole, Sellers Cole, William Hamill, Randy Clark, Harlan Majure, Rayburn Waddell, Arthur Sharpe, and Lamar Fowler.
Visitation will be today 5 p.m.-8 p.m. at the funeral home.
Arrangements were incomplete at Barham Funeral Home for Sandra McCoy, of Meridian, who died Monday, Oct. 13, 2003, in Houston, Texas.