Archives
 By  Staff Reports Published 
3:27 am Saturday, January 19, 2002

EVA ERSCELLE RIVERS

By Staff
Services for Eva Erscelle Rivers will be held today at 10 a.m. at James F. Webb Funeral Home Chapel with the Revs. Carless Evans and Buddy Petty officiating. Burial will be in Magnolia Cemetery.
Mrs. Rivers, 82, of Meridian, died Wednesday, Jan. 16, 2002, in her home. Mrs. Rivers was married Jan. 31, 1946. Hospice held a special place in the life of Mrs. Rivers.
Survivors include her husband, Robert B. Rivers Sr., a son, Robert B. Rivers Jr. and his wife, Lesa Weir Rivers, two brothers, W.C. Hodges and E.A. Hodges, all of Meridian; four grandchildren, Candy, Mandy, Leeann and Christopher; and special family members, Joshua and Faith Wimberley.
She was preceded in death by her parents, William Daniel Hodges and Leota Hodges; and a sister, Audrey Mae Hodges.
Pallbearers will be Otis Weir, Bill Goble, William Hodges, Greg Lashley, Robert Massey and Robbie Massey.
MARGARET BREAZEALE
PHILADELPHIA Services for Margaret Breazeale will be held today at 1 p.m. at McClain-Hays Funeral Service Chapel with the Revs. Jim Daniel and C.O. Germany officiating. Burial will be in Salem Cemetery.
Miss Breazeale, 73, of Philadelphia, died Thursday, Jan. 17, 2002, at Ellisville State School.
Survivors include three sisters, Grace Lewis, Mavis Ingram and Katherine Algood, all of Philadelphia; a brother, O.C. Breazeale of Collinsville; and several nieces and nephews.
INEZ LEGGETT MCNEILL
QUITMAN Services for Inez Leggett McNeill will be held Sunday at 2 p.m. at Zion Rest Congregational Methodist Church. Burial will be in Zion Rest Cemetery. Wright's Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
Mrs. McNeill, 102, died Friday, Jan. 18, 2002, at Brookville Villa in Waynesboro. Born Nov. 28, 1899, she lived during three decades in Clarke County near Heidelberg.
Survivors include a daughter, Edwina McNeill Rees and her husband, Wilbur L., of Cincinnati, Ohio; a grandson, Richard McNeill; two granddaughters, Sylvia Shoemaker and Pamela Thompson, all of Montgomery, Ala.; a brother, James K. Leggett Sr. of Heidelberg; four great-grandsons, two great-granddaughters, two great-great-grandsons and three great-great-granddaughters.
She was preceded in death by her husband, L.M. "Make" McNeill Jr.; her parents, three brothers and two sisters.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorials be made to Zion Rest Cemetery Association, c/o Sam Lindsey, 392 Eucutta Rd., Shubuta, MS 39360.
Visitation will be today beginning at 4 p.m. at Freeman Funeral Home in Waynesboro.
BILLY J. BRYAN SR.
Retired shipfitter for Ingalls Shipbuilding
MOSS POINT Services for Billy J. Byran Sr. will be held Sunday at 2 p.m. at Holder-Wells Funeral Home Chapel with the Revs. Larry Holder and Roger Bradley officiating. Burial will be in Machpelah Cemetery in Pascagoula.
Mr. Bryan, 63, of Azle, Texas, formerly of Pascagoula, died Friday, Jan. 18, 2002, in Meridian. He was born Dec. 23, 1938, in Neshoba County. Mr. Bryan was a member of the Boilermakers Local No. 693 of Pascagoula and attended Church on The Rock.
Survivors include a son, Billy J. Bryan Jr. and his wife, Sharon, of Azle; daughter, Tonya Lynn Lewis and her husband, Billy, of Ft. Worth, Texas; sister, Ima Jewel Alexander of Meridian; brother-in-law and sister-in-law, Thomas and Emma Cook of Ft. Worth; and grandchildren, Tommy Hutcherson III, Michelle Hutcherson, Hayley Pribble and Shelby Lewis.
He was preceded in death by his parents, Jessie and Avis Mooney Bryan; his wife, Betty Jean Bryan; a daughter, Debbie Hutcherson; two sons, David and Jimmy Bryan; and a granddaughter, Ashley Pribble.
Visitation will be today 6 p.m.-9 p.m. at the funeral home.
WILLIAM D. CAMPBELL
DEMOPOLIS, Ala. Services for William D. Campbell will be held Sunday at 2 p.m. at First United Methodist Church with the Rev. Art Luckie officiating. Burial will be in Ebenezer Baptist Cemetery in Pennington. Kidd-Robbins Funeral Directors is in charge of arrangements.
Mr. Campbell, 66, of Demopolis, died Friday, Jan. 18, 2002, at D.C.H. Regional Medical Center. He was a native of Choctaw County and a resident of Demopolis for many years. He served in the U.S. Navy and was retired from Gulf States Paper Corp., with 31 years of service. He was a member of the First United Methodist Church in Demopolis, the Couples and Singles Sunday School Class and Demopolis Masonic Lodge 49.
Survivors include his wife, Mavis Brown Campbell of Demopolis; a sister, Flora Mae Lewis of Bellamy, Ala.; five nieces, Tommie Sikes and Sheila Gray, both of Tennessee, Barbara Shoemaker and Susan Carpenter, both of Edna and Donna Turner of Bellamy.
Pallbearers will be George Carpenter, Billy Shoemaker, Joe Coats, John Haynes, Ed Pickle, Scotty Collins, Danny Webb and Jeremy Sullivan.
Honorary pallbearers will be the Couples and Singles Sunday School Class of the First United Methodist Church and the Walking and Talking Group: Bob Henderson, Don Buchanan, J.D. West, Leon Hoggle, Oscar Hill, Harold Dunn, Buck Thomas and Billy Tucker.
The family requests flowers or donations be sent to the First United Methodist Church, 200 East Decator St., Demopolis, AL 36732.
Visitation will be held today from 6 p.m.-8 p.m. at the funeral home.
GEORGE POLK
Poultry worker
SEBASTOPOL Services for George Polk will be held Sunday at 2 p.m. at Mt. Zion Baptist Church in Carthage with the Revs. Eugene Tubby and Terry Dixon officiating. Burial will be in the church cemetery.
Mr. Polk, 52, of Philadelphia, died Thursday, Jan. 17, 2002, at his home. He was a veteran.
Survivors include his wife, Ezaline Polk of Philadelphia; four daughters, Malesie Henry and Georgianna Billie, both of Carthage and Latoya Polk and Audriana Polk, both of Philadelphia; a son, George Polk Jr. of Philadelphia; a step son, Christopher Tubby of Philadelphia; a brother, Harry Polk of Walnut Grove; six sisters, Clettie Willis, Eva Billy, Maggie Polk, Leslie Wallace and Shirley Jim, all of Carthage and Ruby John of Philadelphia.
Pallbearers will be Harry Wickson, Archie Mingo, Glen Martin, Bobby Phillips, John M. John and Julian Willis.
Honorary pallbearers will be Patrick Willis and Tyler Willis.

Also on Franklin County Times
Miss Northwest Shoals 2026 to take place Saturday
News, Phil Campbell
Alyssa Sutherland For the FCT 
February 20, 2026
PHIL CAMPBELL — Northwest Shoals Community College will be host to the 2026 Miss Northwest Shoals scholarship pageant at 5 p.m. Saturday inside the Lo...
Tiffin Motorhomes to produce new line
Main, News, Red Bay, ...
By Brady Petree For the FCT 
February 18, 2026
RED BAY — Tiffin Motorhomes is slated to open a new production line in Red Bay, according to Tiffin’s parent company, THOR Industries. Beginning May 1...
Dealer: Gold content not suitable for everyday use
Main, News, Z - News Main
By Addi Broadfoot For the FCT 
February 18, 2026
The push for a new $2.50 anniversary coin is raising logistical and economic questions, particularly about whether such a coin could be used in everyd...
Red Bay approves $3.6M budget
Main, News, Red Bay
By Brady Petree For the FCT 
February 18, 2026
RED BAY – City officials are expecting a slight decrease in sales tax revenue for the upcoming fiscal year but anticipating a larger general fund budg...
$5K TVA grant to bring student podcasting program to RES
News, Russellville
María Camp maria.camp@franklincountytimes.com 
February 18, 2026
RUSSELLVILLE — Elementary School students will soon be recording podcasts, interviewing community members and exploring career paths in a program bein...
State is overlooking qualified local leaders
Columnists, Opinion
February 18, 2026
When I was elected to the Alabama State Senate in 1978, I was 39 years old. Now at the age of 87, when I go out in the community, I meet people who re...
Opinion: Here and Now – White to perform March 7 at the Roxy
News, Russellville
HERE AND NOW
By Susie Hovater Malone Columnist 
February 18, 2026
By Susie Hovater Malone Columnist There is something special about a night out in a small town. People run into neighbors. They make a plan instead of...
Accessible basketball completes year 2
News, Russellville, Sports
María Camp maria.camp@franklincountytimes.com 
February 18, 2026
RUSSELLVILLE — Fifteen players took the court over four Saturdays at the Ralph C. Bishop Center for this year’s round of accessible basketball games. ...

Leave a Reply

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