Obituaries for Thursday, March 11, 2004

By Staff
Student
Services for Lemarcus A. Bridges will be held Saturday at 2 p.m. at Mt. Olive Baptist Church in Lauderdale with the Rev. Obdiah Clemons officiating. Burial will be in the church cemetery. Berry and Gardner Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
Mr. Bridges, 17, of Meridian, died Monday March 8, 2004, in Meridian.
Survivors include his mother, Anjanette Bridge; his father, Steve McGlothin; brothers, Reggie Bridges and Jamal Bridges, all of Meridian; maternal grandmother, Annie Bridges of Meridian; maternal grandfather, Dan Bridges of Baton Rouge, La.; paternal grandmother, Addie McGlothin and paternal grandfather, Walter McGlothin, both of Meridian; aunts, Debrina Bridges of Meridian and Dena Bridges of Baton Rouge; uncles, Dennis Bridges and Jermaine Bridges, both of Meridian, and Benton Bridges of Baton Rouge.
Visitation will be Friday from 6 p.m.-7 p.m. at the funeral home.
Parks and recreation employee
DEKALB Services for Albert L. Houston will be held Saturday at 2 p.m. at Pleasant Grove Baptist Church in DeKalb with the Rev. Floyd McConnell officiating. Burial will be in the church cemetery. E.E. McDonald Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
Mr. Houston, 55, of Meridian, died Sunday, March 7, 2004, at Rush Foundation Hospital.
Survivors include a son, Christian A. Jennings and his wife, Connie, of Columbus, Ga.; three grandchildren; sisters, Gloria Jones and Peggy Bailey and her husband, Joe, all of DeKalb, Tracey Smith and her husband, Robert, of Detroit, Minnie Scott of Birmingham, Ala., and Mattie Cherry and her husband, James, of Meridian; brothers, John Houston and his wife, Myrtle, of Detroit, James Houston and his wife, Barbara, Robert Houston, Oscar Houston, Henry Earl Houston and his wife, LaTricia, all of Meridian, Alexander Houston and his wife, Shonda, of Pensacola, Fla., McArthur Houston and his wife, Rozell, of Nashville, Tenn., and Michael Houston of DeKalb; several aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, other relatives and friends.
He was preceded in death by his parents and wife.
Visitation will be Friday from 6 p.m.-7 p.m. at the E.E. McDonald Community Chapel in Meridian.
Services for Berta Lee Hughes White will be held Friday at 2 p.m. at Barham Funeral Home Chapel. Burial will be in Mt. Carmel Presbyterian Church Cemetery.
Mrs. White, 89, of Bailey, died Tuesday, March 9, 2004, at Beverly Health Care Center.
Visitation will be today from 5 p.m.-8 p.m. at the funeral home.
Retired
FREDERICK, Md. Services for Ruth Welch Read were held Monday at 11 a.m. at Robert E. Dailey and Son Funeral Home Chapel. Burial was in Fort Lincoln Cemetery in Bladensburg, Md.
Mrs. Read, 103, formerly of Meridian, died Friday, March 5, 2004, at Homewood at Crumland Farms in Frederick.
She was born Feb. 22, 1901, in Alamucha, the daughter of the late William Thomas and Ida Blanks Welch. Her father was a Confederate soldier. On Mrs. Read's 94th birthday, she was featured in a Frederick News-Post story entitled, "94 and Counting. Daughter of Civil War Veteran Recalls Life."
Prior to her marriage, Mrs. Read worked for many years in Meridian as a secretary for an insurance company. After she moved to Maryland, she worked for Lansburgh's Department Store in Washington, D.C.
She was a member of the Fitzhugh Lee Chapter of the United Daughters of the Confederacy in Frederick and Central Baptist Church in Bladensburg. Prior to living in Homewood, she was a member of the Walkersville Food and Friends. She enjoyed gardening, traveling and being with her family.
Survivors include her sons, Robert W. Read and his wife, Dodie, of Toutle, Wash., Ronald C. Read and his wife, Lorraine, of Tampa, Fla. and William T. Read and his wife, Linda, of Plant City, Fla.; a daughter, Joyce O'Brien and her husband, Dan, of Walkersville, Md.; nine grandchildren, William Read of Boston, Wanda Bently of Lakeland, Fla., John Krucenski and Kenneth Krucenski, both of Baltimore, Cindy Carmack, Vickie Read, Ricky Nance and Trace Nance, all of Atlanta, and Robert Read Jr. of Longview, Wash.; 13 great-grandchildren and a special niece, Virginia Scott of Portsmouth, Va.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Robert C. Read; five sisters, three brothers and her parents.
Arrangements were incomplete at Barham Funeral Home for Lois Virginia Adams, 78, of Chunky, who died Wednesday, March 10, 2004, at The Regency Hospital.
Arrangements were incomplete at Berry and Gardner Funeral Home for Chester Portis, 85, of Lauderdale, who died Wednesday, March 10, 2004, at Heartfelt Hospice.
Arrangements were incomplete at Stephens Funeral Home for Lora Curtis, 90, of Meridian, who died Wednesday, March 10, 2004, at Beverly Health Care Center.
Arrangements were incomplete at Barham Funeral Home for Mrs. Everett Miller, 89, of Meridian, who died Wednesday, March 10, 2004, at Jeff Anderson Regional Medical Center.