Archives
 By  Staff Reports Published 
12:18 pm Friday, December 27, 2002

Obituaries for Friday, Dec. 27, 2002

By Staff
Mollie Marie Moore Tatum
Homemaker
PICAYUNE Services for Mollie Marie Moore Tatum will be held today at 9 a.m. at Estes Chapel of the First Baptist Church in Picayune with the Revs. Joseph W. Tatum and Brian A. Tatum officiating. Burial will be in the Chunky Cemetery at 3 p.m. McDonald Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
Mrs. Tatum, 89, of Picayune, formerly of Chunky, died Tuesday, Dec. 24, 2002, in Picayune.
Survivors include her sons, John M. Tatum of Picayune and Wayne M. Tatum of Raymond; four grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Joseph Everett Tatum; parents, John and Ida Moore and a sister, Louise Boardman.
To register online go to www.mcdonaldfuneralhome.com
Kathleen LaBelle
Retired
Services for Kathleen LaBelle will be held today at 10 a.m. at James F. Webb Funeral Home with the Revs. Larry Brown and Jason Bird officiating. Burial will be in Magnolia Cemetery.
Mrs. LaBelle, 88, of Meridian, died Wednesday, Dec. 25, 2002, at Rush Foundation Hospital. She was a retired A&P employee and a member of 15th Avenue Baptist Church.
Survivors include a son, John LaBelle and his wife, Joyce, of Meridian; a sister, Vivian Harrison of Atlanta; four grandchildren, Michael LaBelle of Dallas, Angela Moore of Jacksonville, Fla., Alan LaBelle and David LaBelle, both of Meridian; seven great-grandchildren; one niece and four nephews.
Pallbearers will be Michael LaBelle, Alan LaBelle, David LaBelle, Jim Watson, Chris Hilliard and Stacy Golden.
Hugh Clarence Sloan
Retired
YORK, Ala. Graveside services for Hugh Clarence Sloan will be held today at 10 a.m. at Flatwoods Baptist Church Cemetery with the Rev. Carl Wells officiating.
Mr. Sloan, 92, of Tuscaloosa, died Tuesday, Dec. 24, 2002, at La Rocca Nursing Home in Tuscaloosa. He was a veteran of the U.S. Air Force and served in World War II.
Survivors include his daughter, Ann Rumley and her husband, Frank, of Fairhope; sons, Jimmy Sloan and his wife, Patrice, of Tuscaloosa, and Johnny Sloan and his wife, Susan, of Cullman; a nephew, Pat Durden and eight grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.
He was preceded in death by his wife of 52 years, Alma Stine Sloan and his siblings, and parents.
James O. Gentry
Retired airport manager
Services for James O. Gentry will be held today at 2:30 p.m. at Barham Funeral Home Chapel with the Revs. Mike Russell and Buddy Petty officiating. Burial will be in Meridian Memorial Park Cemetery.
Mr. Gentry, 78, of Meridian, died Wednesday, Dec. 25, 2002, at Jeff Anderson Regional Medical Center. He was retired as the airport manager in Meridian for 26 years. He was retired from the U.S. Army National Guard as a pilot and he was a member of Oakland Heights Baptist Church.
Survivors include his wife, Jean Mitcham Gentry of Meridian; children, Gaylen Richardson and her husband, Steve, of Lake Charles, La., Robin Petty and her husband, Buddy, of Enterprise, Jill Wall and her husband, Bruce, of Brandon, and James O. "Jimmy" Gentry Jr. and his wife, Linda, of Newton; 14 grandchildren; two great-grandchildren; and two brothers, Dan Gentry of Demopolis, Ala., and Bob Gentry and his wife, Ernestine, of Albany, Ga.; a sister, Jean Gentry Bailey and her husband, Roy, of Lauderdale; and several nieces, and nephews.
He was preceded in death by his parents, Robert L. Gentry and Clara Gentry.
Pallbearers will be Michael Richardson, Grant Threatt, Clay Wall, Bryan Wall, Patrick Wall and David Balat. Honorary pallbearers will be Gunnar Gentry, James O. Gentry III, Collin Gentry, and Mitch Gentry.
Inez Gough Raley
Homemaker
Services for Inez Gough Raley will be held Saturday at 10 a.m. at Barham Funeral Home Chapel with the Revs. E.C. Wells and Ernest Allen officiating. Burial will be in Causeyville Baptist Church Cemetery.
Mrs. Raley, 92, of Meridian, died Wednesday, Dec. 25, 2002, at her home. She was a member of Causeyville Baptist Church where she was a longtime Sunday school teacher. She was a devoted wife, mother and grandmother.
Survivors include two sons, Gene Raley and his wife, Charlene, and Wayne Raley and his wife, Cathy, all of Meridian; a daughter, Glenda Rutledge of Meridian; her grandchildren, Stan Raley, Scott Raley, Lisa West, Marsha Slayton, Kenny Rutledge and Karen Rutledge, all of Meridian, Cheryl Harron of Jackson, Jason Raley of Colorado, Tony Raley and Randy Raley, both of Tennessee; 12 grandchildren; and one great-grandchild.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Willie Raley; and a son, Bobbie Raley.
Pallbearers will be her grandsons.
Visitation will be held today at the funeral home.

Also on Franklin County Times
Kiwanis Club returns; Key Club planned
Main, News, Russellville, ...
María Camp maria.camp@franklincountytimes.com 
April 1, 2026
RUSSELLVILLE — The Kiwanis Club has returned to Russellville. Members gathered last week at Calvary Baptist Church to review bylaws, elect officers an...
Bridge work moves forward on SR 243
Main, News, Russellville, ...
By Addi Broadfoot For the FCT 
April 1, 2026
RUSSELLVILLE — Construction of a new bridge over Cedar Creek on SR 243 is moving forward as crews recently completed a major step in the project. Last...
Neighbors steps down as chairman of Democrats
News, Russellville
María Camp maria.camp@franklincountytimes.com 
April 1, 2026
RUSSELLVILLE — Rick Neighbors has stepped down as chair of the Franklin County Democratic Executive Committee, citing personal commitments he said no ...
Kiel named a 2026 ‘Emerging Leader’
News, Russellville
By Addi Broadfoot For the FCT 
April 1, 2026
RUSSELLVILLE — District 18 State Rep. Jamie Kiel has been named to the 2026 class of Emerging Leaders by GOPAC, a national group which works to train ...
NIL era has become a complete disaster
Columnists, Opinion
April 1, 2026
The modern NIL era is a complete disaster. Players walk away from contracts just to chase a new shiny opportunity. Coaches are left begging their alum...
Ex-educators learn about crime prevention from guest speaker
Columnists, Franklin County, News
HERE AND NOW
April 1, 2026
Members of the Franklin County Retired Educators Association learned about crime prevention during their recent monthly meeting. Association members w...
K-9 Mia gets helmet for protection
News
Kevin Taylor For the FCT 
April 1, 2026
ROGERSVILLE — When Police Lt. Lucas Stansell and his K-9 Mija are called into action to track a person through the woods, or to go into a home to exec...
Biblical roles create big sandals to fill
News
Chelsea Retherford Staff Writer 
April 1, 2026
Onstage, they are adversaries — one a reluctant liberator, the other a ruler clinging to power. But offstage, McKinley Copeland and Zach Adams share s...

Leave a Reply

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