Obituaries for Wednesday, Dec. 10, 2003

By Staff
Survivors include his wife, Christine Thomas of Philadelphia; daughters, Norma Thomas, Dina Thomas, Vena Thomas, Vanessa Thomas and Jeri Thomas; sons, George Thomas, Joey Thomas, Bobby Thomas, Fritz Thomas, Clifton Thomas, Arthur Thomas Jr. and Danny Thomas; sisters, Kathleen Thomas and Addie Thomas; and brothers, Alvin Thomas and Odie Jim, all of Philadelphia; 30 grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren.
Visitation will be today beginning at 9 a.m. at 124 Jim Road in Philadelphia.
Retired St. Louis Scrap Company
Services for John H. Houston will be held Friday at 2 p.m. at Simmon's Ridge Baptist Church with the Rev. Roosevelt Clark officiating. Burial will be in New Hope Cemetery. Berry and Gardner Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
Mr. Houston, 69, of Meridian, died Monday, Dec. 8, 2003, at Jeff Anderson Regional Medical Center.
Survivors include his wife, Ella M. Houston of Meridian; daughters, Dorothy Bailey, Ruby Brown and her husband, Joe, Thelma Jackson and her husband, Hansel, and Gloria Houston, all of Meridian, Mary Grace and her husband, Billy, of Marion, and Belinda Grace and her husband, Johnny, of DeKalb; sons, Leslie Simmons and his wife, Josephine, and Henry Houston and his wife, Dorothy, all of Causeyville, Billy Houston and his wife, Sarah, Ray Charles Houston, Johnny Ray Houston and his wife, Sadcak, Arthur Lee Houston and his wife, Cynthia, and John Henry Houston Jr., all of Meridian; sisters, Annie Lanier and Polly Campbell and her husband, Jessie, all of DeKalb, and Fannie Mae Lanier of Toomsuba; a brother, Walter Houston and his wife, Alveda, of DeKalb; 33 grandchildren and 13 great-grandchildren.
Visitation will be Thursday 7 p.m.-8 p.m. at the funeral home.
Homemaker
DELAVAN Services for Lillian Era Partrige will be held Saturday at 10 a.m. at Antioch Baptist Church in Philadelphia. Burial will be in the church cemetery. Betzer Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
Mrs. Partrige, 87, of Delavan, died Sunday, Dec. 7, 2003, at Willowfield Nursing Home.
Survivors include her sons, Tony Partrige and his wife, Shelby, of Byron, Ill., and Eugene Partrige of Oklahoma; daughters, Ruby McDonald and her husband, Lamar, of Meridian and Sue Bigelow and her husband, Ben, of Delavan; and five grandchildren.
She was preceded in death by her parents, her husband; a daughter, Barbara Klade Boss; two sisters, four brothers and two grandsons.
Visitation will be Saturday one hour prior to the service at the church.
Retired teacher
PASCAGOULA Services for Ruby Smith Walker will be held Saturday at 10:30 a.m. at First Baptist Church of Pascagoula with the Revs. Dr. Rex Yancey and Dennis Ray Smith officiating. Burial will be at 3 p.m. in New Palestine Cemetery in Picayune. O'Bryant-O'Keefe Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
Mrs. Walker, 97, of Pascagoula, formerly of Meridian, died Thursday, Dec. 4, 2003, in Pascagoula. She was a member of First Baptist Church in Pascagoula. She was a retired teacher in the Meridian Public School System, a member of the Meridian Pilot Club and Delta Kappa Gamma.
Survivors include her daughter, Janet Donald and her husband, Bob, of Pascagoula; sons, Larry Walker and his wife, Fayne, of Prairieville, La., and Wilfred Walker and his wife, Patsy, of Spanish Fort, Ala.; six grandchildren, Bob Donald III, Bill Donald, Steven Donald, Jayne Walker, Thomas Walker and John Walker; two great-grandchildren, Benjamin Donald and Matthew Donald.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Fred Walker; parents, Arena and Johnny Smith; two sisters, Lois Smith and Selina Smith; brothers, Lewis Smith, W.L. Smith, Forrest Smith, Lavelle Smith and Drexel Smith; and a granddaughter, Shelley Walker.
Memorials may be made to First Baptist Church "Lottie Moon Offering," the American Cancer Society, The Home of Grace or a favorite charity or missions.
Visitation will be Saturday one hour prior to the service at the church.
QUITMAN Services for Rubie J. Thompson will be held Saturday at 11 a.m. at Center Ridge Baptist Church with the Rev. Lorenzo Carter officiating. Burial will be in the church cemetery. Berry and Gardner Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
Ms. Thompson of Indianapolis, died Thursday, Dec. 4, 2003, in Indianapolis.
Survivors include her daughters, Tytie Thompson Evans of DeSoto and La Toria Thompson of Laurel; her mother, Georgia Mae Carter of DeSoto; her father, Richard Edwards of Brookhaven; sisters, Teresa C. Willis of Indianapolis, Rachel L. Evans of Meridian, Janie Y. Evans and Sabrenia D. Carter, both of DeSoto, Elaine Scott Edwards, Denise Edwards, Beverly Bradshaw and Sharnice Hopkins, all of Las Vegas; brothers, Marvin Edwards and Jerry Edwards, both of Las Vegas, Mathew Smith of Waynesboro and LeCurtis Edwards of Quitman.
Visitation will be Friday 6 p.m.-8 p.m. at the funeral home in Quitman.
Homemaker
BUTLER, Ala. Services for Reba Herrington Turner were held Tuesday at 2 p.m. at Needham Bible Chapel with the Rev. James Bonner officiating. Burial was in Old Lusk Cemetery in Toxey, Ala., with Bumpers Funeral Home in charge of arrangements.
Mrs. Turner, 49, of Gilbertown, died Sunday, Dec. 7, 2003, at Jeff Anderson Regional Medical Center.
Survivors include her husband, George T. Turner Sr.; sons, George T. Turner Jr. and Joseph Lamar Turner, all of Gilbertown; daughters, Toni Dearmon of Needham and Angela Allen of Butler; a sister, Dorothy Gibson of Lumberton, N.C.; and three grandchildren.
Arrangements were incomplete at James F. Webb Funeral Home in Newton for Grace Holsonback, 79, of Newton, who died Tuesday, Dec. 9, 2003, at Newton Regional Hospital.