Obituaries – 2007 – C

Published 12:00 am Monday, January 1, 2007

The Panolian: OBITUARIES (C)

C  

CALVERT, Edna Whitworth
    
CROWDER – Edna Whitworth Calvert, 87, died Monday, March 5, 2007, at her residence.
     Services were Thursday at Crowder Baptist Church. Rev. Larry Kilgore officiated. Burial was in Crowder Cemetery. Kimbro Funeral Home of Marks had charge.
     Calvert, born July 13, 1919, in Hohenwald, Tenn., was a member of Crowder Baptist Church and a homemaker.
     She was preceded in death by her husband, Tim Calvert; one daughter, Christine Tatum and one son, Ray Calvert.
     Survivors include: one daughter, Nancy Moyer of Marks; eight grandchildren; 18 great-grandchildren and four great-great-grandchildren.


CARD, Gwen J.
    
DALLAS, Texas – Gwen J. Card, 42, formerly of Batesville, died Tuesday, March 20, 2007, in Dallas.
     Services were Saturday at Wells Funeral Home Chapel. Rev. Pat Ludlam officiated. Burial was in Forrest Memorial Park. Wells Funeral Home had charge.
     Card was born Oct. 29, 1964, to Kelcie F. Card of Batesville and the late Helen Copeland Card.
     Survivors along with her father include: one daughter, Chelcie J. Card of Duncanville, Texas; one son, Zachary B. Card of Duncanville; three brothers, Kelcie F. Card Jr. of Olive Branch, Charles A. Card of Duncanville and Alan B. Card of Cordova, Tenn. and her step-mother, Mary Duncan Card of Batesville.


CHAPMAN, Ozell
     BATESVILLE – Ozell Chapman, 78, died Sunday, April 1, 2007, at Tri-Lakes Medical Center.
     Services are today at 11 a.m. at New Bethlehem M.B. Church in Batesville. Rev. W.L. Nash will officiate. Burial will be in New Bethlehem Cemetery. Visitation is today 10 a.m. – 11 a.m. at New Bethlehem M.B. Church. Cooley’s Mortuary has charge.
     Chapman, born Aug. 29, 1928, in Batesville, to the late Hosea Leland and the late Earline Willangham, was a homemaker and a member of New Bethlehem M.B. Church. She was also a member of the Church Missionary and Fellowship Committee.
Survivors include: her husband, Roy Chapman of Batesville; three daughters, Georgia Chapman and Barbara Chapman, both of Batesville and Connie Bowman of Amherst, N.Y.; three sons, Robert Chapman and Dwight Chapman, both of Batesville and Lee Walter Chapman of Milwaukee, Wis.; one sister, Blanche Dugger of Milwaukee; five brothers, Joe Leland and C.W. Leland of Batesville, Lloyd Leland and Maurice Leland, both of Oakland, Mack Leland of Greenwood and Earnest Leland of Milwaukee; 20 grandchildren and 11 great-grandchildren.


CHILDRESS, Charles Edward
    
WATER VALLEY – Charles Edward Childress, 60, formerly of Marks, died Saturday, March 3, 2007, at his residence. He was the brother of James Ray Childress of Batesville.
     Graveside services were Wednesday at Reeves Cemetery near Middleton, Tenn. Bubba Childress officiated. Kimbro Funeral Home had charge.
     Childress was born May 24, 1946, to the late George Roy and Addie Childress.
     He was preceded in death by one sister, Flora Joyce Nolan.
     Survivors along with his brother include: his wife, Kathy Ledford Childress of Water Valley; two sons, Charles Edward Childress Jr. of Hinchcliff and Adam Paul Childress of Water Valley; two daughters, Patti Colleen Henderson of Strayhorn and Tonya Lynn Aldridge of Tibbs; three sisters, Gracie Nell Hicks of Shaw, Edna Virginia Lewis of Hickory Flat and Winnie Louise O’Neill of Iuka; four brothers, Roy Leo Childress of Tupelo, Dave Loyd Childress of Shaw, Jerry Lyn Childress of Lambert and Tommy Gene Childress of Jonesboro, Ark. and seven grandchildren.


CLEMONS, James M.
    
CRENSHAW – James M. Clemons, 43, died Wednesday, March 7, 2007, at Baptist Memorial in Oxford.
     Services are Saturday at 2 p.m. at Wells Funeral Home. Burial will be in Longtown Cemetery. Visitation is today at 5 p.m.  – 8 p.m. at Wells Funeral Home. Wells Funeral Home has charge.
     Clemons, born April 29, 1963, in Marks, to Shed M. and Oudia Rose Dalton Clemons, was a truck driver for Battle Fish Farms.
     Survivors along with his parents include: his wife, Liz O’Neal Clemons of Crenshaw; three sons, Joshua James Clemons, Robert Daryl Clemons and Chris Shane Clemons, all of Crenshaw; two brothers, Johnny Clemons of Senatobia and Ricky Clemons of Crenshaw; two sisters, Sue Clemons Dunson of Strayhorn and Tammy Clemons Ramos of Crenshaw and one granddaughter, Kelsey Clemons.


COLBERT, Edward E.
    
SARDIS – Edward E. Colbert, 88, died Saturday, February 24, 2007, at Baptist Memorial Hospital in Oxford.
     Services are at 2 p.m. Wednesday at Wells Funeral Home Chapel. Burial will be in Forrest Memorial Park. Visitation is today 5 p.m. – 8 p.m. at Wells Funeral Home. Wells Funeral Home has charge.
     Colbert, born April 15, 1918, in Trebloc, was a member of Bellevue Baptist Church in Memphis and a U.S. Army veteran of WWII. He was also retired from International Harvester in the tool and die department.
     He was preceded in death by his wife, Marie Peters Colbert.
     Survivors include: one son, Eddie Colbert of Batesville; one granddaughter, Kayla Colbert and three step-grandchildren, Jennifer Bickerstaff, Christy Campbell and Amber Arnold.


COMMER, Bennett Collins
    
NEW MADRID, MO. – Panola native Bennett Collins Commer, 85, died Tuesday, December 19, 2006.
     Services were December 23 at the First United Methodist Church in New Madrid.
     Commer, born Dec. 18, 1921, in Pope, to the late William Andrew Commer and Maggie Pearl Commer, was the uncle of Billie Mai Garner of Batesville.
     Upon graduation from high school, Commer enrolled at Mississippi State University. At the end of his sophomore year, during the Second World War, he joined the United States Army where he was selected for flight training and assigned to the Army Air Corps. He received the wings of an aviator and was appointed a second lieutenant on April 15, 1944. During his training, he married Bettye Taylor of Lakeland, Fla. on April 26, 1946, following his return from the Pacific.
     As a pilot, he served with the 458th fighter squadron/506th fighter group flying combat missions from Iwo Jima and Tinian A recently published book "Very Long Range P-51 Mustang Units of the Pacific War," by Carl Molesworthy, details the service of P-51 fighter pilots such as Commer who were assigned to escort bombers on missions over Japan.
     Among the longest missions undertaken by fighters during the war, a round trip could be as long as 1,500 miles, almost all of which was over the Pacific Ocean.
     Commer’s collection of photographs and memorabilia from the war and his recollections of his Army Air Corps service was a valuable resource to the author who interviewed Mr. Commer on several occasions.
     Lt. Commer and his plane, a P-51 nicknamed "The Boll Weevil," participated in 10 very long range missions and 31 other combat missions. The 458th fighter squadron began its combat duties from Tinian on March 28, 1945. While the squadron was flying from Tinian, Lt. Commer was one of six P-51 pilots temporarily assigned to assist the Navy deal in a high altitude reconnaissance of the Japanese in the installation at Ulithe Atoll. During his service in the Pacific, he once caught a ride on a plane piloted by the famous actor Tyrone Power.
     Following the war, Commer returned to the States in 1946. He wed his sweetheart and re-enrolled at Mississippi State from which he graduated in 1948. Upon graduation, he accepted a position with the University of Missouri Agricultural Extension Service and moved to New Madrid.
     In 1951 he began a new job that ultimately led to his becoming general manager of Cypress Manufacturing in Portageville, Mo., where he worked until his retirement in 1987. He was a long time member of the board of directors of Baughamann-Oster Inc., the St. Louis based parent of Cypress Manufacturing.
     Survivors include: his wife Betty; two daughters, Linda Offerdahl of Minneapolis and Marsha Rainey of Memphis.


COOPER, Charles Walton "Bubba Cat"
    
BURGAW, N.C. – Charles Walton "Bubba Cat" Cooper, 53, formerly of Courtland, died Wednesday, March 14, 2007, at the New Hanover Regional Medical Center.
     Services were Monday, March 19, 2007, at Dunn Funeral Home Chapel in Burgaw, N.C. Rev. Grady Fennell Jr. and Rev. Randolph Taylor Jr. officiated. Dunn Funeral Home had charge.
     Cooper, born Dec. 8, 1953, to the late Clarence and Zenobia Benson Cooper, was a road paver for the Department of Transportation with the State of Mississippi and after moving to North Carolina in 1984 he was employed with the Squires Logging Company. He was also a member of Shiloh Missionary Baptist Church in Courtland.
     Survivors include: two daughters, Renee Cooper of Batesville and Pam Cooper of Courtland; two sons, Donnell Cooper and Michael Earl Cooper, both of Batesville; one aunt, Annie L. Johnson of Courtland and two grandchildren.


COPOUS, Carol Jean
    
CRENSHAW – Carol Jean Copous, 69, died Tuesday, January 2, 2007, at Baptist Memorial Hospital in Memphis.
     Services are today at Pate-Jones Funeral Home in Senatobia. Burial will be in Longtown Cemetery. Pate-Jones Funeral Home has charge.
     Copous was a member of Sees Chapel Methodist Church.
     She was preceded in death by her husband Tommy Ralph Copous.
     Survivors include: two sons, James Edward Copous of Southaven and Robert Earl Copous of Coldwater; one sister, Marie McCullough of Splendora, Texas; one brother, James Cowan of Crenshaw; six grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.


COX, Clifton "C.P."
     SARDIS- Clifton "C.P." Cox, 86, died Monday, March 26, 2007, at Tri-Lakes Medical Center.
     Services are Wednesday at 1 p.m. at Olive Ray M.B. Church in Pope. Rev. L.C. Smith will officiate. Burial will be in Olive Ray Cemetery in Pope. Visitation will be today 10 a.m. – 6 p.m. at Cooley’s Mortuary. Cooley’s Mortuary has charge.
     Cox, born May 22, 1920, in Batesville, to the late William James Cox and the late Ida Bell Rosalee Isom, was a retired farmer and a member of Olive Ray M.B. Church.
     Survivors include: his niece who cared for him, Estelle Glasco of Sardis.


COX, Mabrine Dickey
    
MARKS – Mabrine Dickey Cox, 86, died Monday, March 5, 2007, at Quitman County Hospital.
     Services were Thursday at Kimbro Funeral Home in Marks. Roy Bailey and Chuck Morris officiated. Burial was in Magnolia Cemetery in Batesville. Kimbro Funeral Home had charge.
     Cox was born Aug. 22, 1920, in Yalobusha County.
     She was preceded in death by her husband, Richard Eston Cox.
     Survivors include: five daughters, Elizabeth Golden and Linda West, both of Marks, Wanda Melton and Carolyn Fawns, both of Clarksdale and Brenda Ragon of Water Valley; four sons, James Cox of Sunflower County, R.L. Cox, Stanley Cox and Elvis Cox, all of Marks and many grandchildren.


CRAWFORD, Gladys Ray
    
BATESVILLE – Gladys Ray Crawford, 67, died Wednesday, January 10, 2007, at her residence.
     Services were Saturday at Wells Funeral Home Chapel. Rev. Larry Kilgore and Rev. Millard Moak officiated. Burial was in Tylertown Cemetery. Wells Funeral Home had charge.
     Crawford, born Nov. 26, 1939, in Kilmichael to the late James Eddie and Willie Peacock Ray, was a professional model and the director for the State of Mississippi Pageants System. She was also a member of McLauren Heights Baptist Church in Pearl.
     Survivors include: two daughters, Lisa Crawford Clark of Brandon and Brandi Rae Crawford of Pearl; one son, Michael Crawford of Brandon; three sisters, Maxine Ray Howard of Helena, Ark., Elaine Ray Carpenter of Pearl and Jo Ray Strout of Pearl; two brothers, J.E. "Tallboy" Ray of New Orleans, La. and Bobby Ray of Helena, Ark.; eight grandchildren and one great-grandson.


CROUCH, Jason
    
PETAL – Jason Crouch, 30, formerly of Batesville, died Thursday, February 1, 2007, at Forrest General Hospital in Hattiesburg from injuries received in an auto accident.
     Services were Sunday at Wells Funeral Home Chapel. Robert Rawson officiated. Burial was in Forrest Memorial Park. Wells Funeral Home had charge.
     Crouch, born July 5, 1976, in Oxford to Jerry Russell Crouch of Batesville and Deloris Ann Rikard Crouch of Batesville, was a self-employed carpenter.
     Survivors along with his parents include: his companion and mother of his children, Farrah Niccole Thompson of Hattiesburg; one daughter, Adrian Niccole Crouch of Hattiesburg; one son, Jaxon Reece Crouch of Hattiesburg; one sister, Alethea Crouch Bowdoin of Batesville and his grandmother, Sally Rikard of Batesville.
     Memorials may be made to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis.


CULBREATH, William C. Jr.
    
WILLS POINT, Texas – William C. Culbreath Jr., 73, died Saturday, March 10, 2007, at his residence. No services will be held at this time.     
Culbreath, born February 1, 1934, in Batesville, to the late William Clyde Culbreath Sr. and the late Bessie Cooper Wall Culbreath, was raised in Batesville and graduated from Batesville High School. In 1962, he married Virginia L. Wood. He served in the National Guard and was a Teamster’s Union truck driver for 28 years, retiring in 1991. He lived in Houston prior to moving to Lake Tawakoni 13 years ago. He was of the Baptist faith.
     Along with his parents, he was preceded in death by one son, Gene Culbreath.
     Survivors include: his wife, Virginia Culbreath, of Wills Point; two sons, William C. Culbreath III of Wills Point and Joseph Culbreath of Italy; two daughters, Michelle Patrick of Wills Point and Lynn Shell of Harrisburg, Pa.; eight grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.

 

 


                                         
                       
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