SARDIS—Mae R. Gee, 75, died Monday, April 5, 2010, at Baptist Memorial Hospital-North Mississippi.

Services will be held today at 2 p.m. at Pleasant Grove Methodist Church in Sardis. Burial will be in Plesant Grove Cemetery. Ray-Nowell Funeral Home has charge.

Gee, born April 16, 1934, to the late Chester Reynolds and Donna Mae Arnold Reynolds, was a member of Pleasant Grove Methodist Church and a homemaker.

Survivors include: her husband, John C. Gee of Sardis; three daughters, Laurie Gee Faught and LeeAn Gee Tatum, both of Sardis and Linnet Gee Mathewson of Boulder, Colo.; one son, Don C. Gee of Sardis; one sister, Lela Hudson of Sardis; 13 grandchildren and one great-grandchild.

OXFORD—Clifton Hilliard, 66, died Saturday, April 3, 2010, at Baptist Memorial Hospital-North Mississippi.

Services will be held today at 2:30 p.m. at Philadelphia M.B. Church in Oxford. Rev. Alfred Hall will officiate. Burial will be in the church cemetery. Hodges-Freeman Funeral Home has charge.

Survivors include: his wife, Rosie Coleman of Oxford; two daughters, Henrietta Coleman of St. Louis, Mo.; Alicia Coleman of Canton, Mo.; one son, Leon Coleman of Oxford; one sister, Mae Brassell of Oxford; two step-sisters, Geniver Pointer of St. Louis; Bessie Strong of Memphis; four brothers, L.V Phillips of Atlanta, Henry Phillips of Irnton, Ohio, Ernest Phillips of Cambridge, Ohio; Reddie Phillips of  Batesville; two step brothers, Sammie Phillips of Batesville, Willie Phillips Jr. of Memphis; six grandchildren and 4 great-grandchildren.

James “Jimmie” Brown McCullar

BATESVILLE—James “Jimmie” Brown McCullar, 73, died Monday, April 5, 2010 at his residence.

Survivors include his wife Patsy Ruth McCullar of Batesville; four daughters, Cindy Martin of Batesville, Kathy McCullar of Pearl, Jami Seay of Batesville and Amanda McCullar of Oxford; and seven grandchildren. He is preceded in death by both parents, Hayward Hilton McCullar and Addie Brown McCullar.

Memorials may be sent to Unity Hospice – 458 Hwy 6 East Batesville, Ms 38606.

Charlie Dane Rotenberry

BATESVILLE—Charlie Dane Rotenberry, 65, died Monday, April 5, 2010, at Baptist Memorial Hospital-North Mississippi.
Services were Wednesday at Wells Funeral Home. Burial was in Crowder Cemetery. Wells Funeral Home had charge.

Rotenberry, born Oct. 9, 1944, in Water Valley, to the late Charlie Doyle and Marguerite McCullar Rotenberry, was a member of Crowder Baptist Church. He farmed land in Tallahatchie and Quitman Counties for 34 years.

Survivors include: his wife of 44 years, Lucy Respess Rotenberry; five sisters, Faye Rotenberry Nolan of Water Valley, Peggy Rotenberry Turner of Crowder, Jo Rotenberry Durham of Batesville, Kay Rotenberry Marberry of Crowder and Diane Rotenberry Bailey of Batesville.

The family requests anyone wishing to send memorials to send them to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital at 501 St. Jude Place, Memphis, Tenn. 38105-1905.

NEW ALBANY—Reverend Edwin “Edd” Ayers Spencer, a United Methodist minister for 51 years, died on April 5, 2010. He had served churches at Crenshaw, Como and Pleasant Grove in Panola County.

Funeral services were Thursday, April 8 at Bethlehem United Methodist Church. Rev. Jeff Lawrence, Rev. Prentiss Gordon, Rev. Smith Whiteside  officiated and his grandson, Brandon Vance, gave the eulogy. Burial with military honors was at Glenfield Memorial Park. United Funeral Service was in charge of arrangements.

Born in Myrtle, he was the son of the late Pat Gray and Elizabeth Rowland Spencer. In World War II, he served in the U.S. Navy for three years, stationed in the Pacific theater. He was called into the ministry in 1949 and served in Belfontaine, Mayben, Benoit, Ruleville, and Tunica, in addition to the Panola churches.

 He officiated all his children and grandchildren’s weddings and the great-grandchildren’s baptisms. He enjoyed hunting and gardening (always striving for the best tomato), but most of all he was interested in people, a family member said.

He is survived by his wife of 69 years, Gladys Wilbanks Spencer; his two children, Virginia (Genny) Vance of Myrtle and William Ayers (Buddy) Spencer of Oxford; five grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren.

BATESVILLE— Chester “Tap” Warren Tapper, 89, died Thursday, April 1, 2010, at Baptist Memorial Hospital-North Mississippi.

Services were Saturday at Wells Funeral Home. Hal Johnson and Will Anderson officiated. Burial was in Chapel Hill Cemetery in Pope. Wells Funeral Home had charge.

Tapper, born Feb. 28, 1921, in Pope, to Willie and Sally Cosby Tapper, was retired from the Mississippi Department of Transportation. He was a member of Courtland Church of Christ.

He was preceded in death by his wife Margie Bolton Tapper.

Survivors include: one son, Chester Wayne Tapper of Pope; one brother, Elwood Tapper of Southaven; three grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.

Memorials may be made to Chapel Hill Cemetery Fund.