NESBIT – Raymond R. Bennett, 75, died Saturday, December 3, 2011, at Baptist Memorial Hospital-DeSoto.

Services will be held Wednesday at 2 p.m. at Wells Funeral Home. Rev. Gary Black, the pastor of First Baptist Church of Nesbit,  will officiate. Burial will be in Liberty Hill Cemetery. Visitation will begin at 10 a.m. on Wednesday until service time. Wells Funeral Home has charge.

Bennett, born Oct. 1, 1939, in Hamburg, Tenn., to the late Jorden Fletcher and Mary Butler Bennett, was a chemical operator for 37 years where he worked for Grace Chemical and retiring from Mobile Chemical of Beaumont, Texas. He served his country in the United States Army.

Survivors include: his wife, Betty Snyder Bennett of Nesbit; two sons, Bryan Bennett of Horn Lake and Jamie Bennett of Lumberton, Texas; two grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.

Barbara Jepsen Clark, 81, of Senatobia, aunt of Bob O’Neal of Batesville, passed away Sunday December 4, 2011 at Methodist University Hospital.

A self employed public accountant, she was a member of Senatobia First United Methodist Church and Eastern Star.

Preceded in death by her husband, James Linwood Clark, she is survived by her children, Johnny Clark and Lynn Walker as well as four grandchildren and two great grandchildren.

Visitation is today, Tuesday, December 6, from 5 to 7 p.m. at Pate-Jones Funeral Home in Senatobia.

An 11 a.m. service will be  held Wednesday, December 7 at the Senatobia First United Methodist Church with a time of visitation before the service from 10 to 11 a.m. at the church. Burial will  follow at Bethesda Cemetery in Senatobia. The family requests that any memorials be sent to the First United Methodist Church in Senatobia.

BATESVILLE – Faye Ferrell Holcombe, 86, died Friday, December 2, 2011, at Tri-Lakes Medical Center.

Services will be held today at 2:30 p.m. at First Baptist Church in Batesville with visitation beginning at 1 p.m. prior to services.. H.F. Holcombe Jr., Dr. Carl Buck and Rev. Tommy Snyder will officiate. Burial will be in Batesville Magnolia Cemetery. Dickins Funeral Home has charge.

Holcombe, born Oct. 14, 1925, was a graduate of Batesville High School. She was an employee of the Bank of Batesville for many years. She was a member of the First Baptist Church and was a Sunday school teacher for many years. She and her husband, Fred, owned and operated a furniture and appliance business. She was preceded in death by her husband, Fred Holombe
Survivors include: her son, Fred Holcombe Jr. and two grandchildren.

POPE – Ron Holland, 67, died Wednesday, November 30, 2011, at Tri-Lakes Medical Center.

Services were held Saturday at Wells Funeral Home. Dr. Johnny Spencer officiated. Burial was in Forrest Memorial Park with military honors. Wells Funeral Home had charge.

Holland, born July 3, 1944, in Temple, Texas, to Dan Carl and Lois Sanders Barton, was retired from Batesville Casket Company and a member of Calvary Baptist Church. He was a veteran of the Vietnam War serving his country in the Marine Corps.

Survivors include: his wife, Martha “Cissy” Tutor Holland of Pope; one daughter, Jennifer Holland Respess of Pope; one son, Danny Holland of Salem, Ark.; one sister, Regina Barton Bigler of Federal Way, Wash. and four grandchildren.

MARKS – Ellis McClaine Jones, 92, died Friday, December 2, 2011, at North East Regional Medical Center in Tupelo.

Services were held Sunday at Wells Funeral Home. Burial was in Forrest Memorial Park. James Harmon Smith officiated. Wells Funeral Home had charge.

Jones, born Dec. 2, 1919, in Marks, to the late James Augustus and Mae Vester White Jones, was a retired farmer. Jones was inducted into the U.S. Army on June 1, 1945, and was honorably discharged on December 14, 1945.

He was preceded in death by his wife, Lois Wood Jones.

Survivors include: four daughters, Shirley Jones Bowles of Batesville, Carolyn Jones Miller of Carrollton, Patricia Jones Bridges of Crowder, Rita Jones Smith of Connehatta; five sons, Lewis M. Jones of Tupelo, Maurice Jones of Booneville, Tommy E. Jones of Alma, Ark., David Jones of Springdale, Ark., Don W. Jones of Batesville; 25 grandchildren and 33 great-grandchildren and eight great-great-grandchildren.

BATESVILLE – Marjorie Elizabeth Pettit Lightsey, 92, died Sunday, December 4, 2011, at her residence.

Services will be held Wednesday at 11 a.m. at the Batesville Presbyterian Church. Burial will be in Batesville Magnolia Cemetery. Rev. Melanie Pointon and Rev. Ed Woodall will officiate. Visitation will be held Tuesday from 4 p.m. – 7 p.m. at the church. Dickins Funeral Home has charge.

Mrs. Lightsey, born August 14, 1919, to the late Robert Bruce Pettit and Mabel Victoria Hopkins, was a homemaker and a member of the Presbyterian Church.

She was preceded in death by her husband, William Bufkin Lightsey.

Survivors include; five sons, Malcolm B. Lightsey and his wife, Joy of Ridgeland, Samuel H. Lightsey and his wife, Sandy of Odessa, Texas, Dennis W. Lightsey and Jerry B. Lightsey and his wife, Mina, and Robert H. Lightsey and his wife, Carol Anne all of Batesville; one brother, Robert H. Pettit and his wife, Joyce of Tyler, Texas;14 grandchildren; 16 great-grandchildren and two great-great-grandchildren.
Memorials may be made to the Batesville Presbyterian Church, 121 Eureka St., Batesville.

POPE – Elizabeth Newman “Baby” Taylor, 85, died Friday, December 2, 2011, at Golden Living Nursing Facility in Batesville.

Services were Monday at Pope Baptist Church. Burial was in Chapel Hill Cemetery. Dr. Gary Berry and Rev. Roger Richards officiated. Wells Funeral Home had charge.

Taylor, born July 5, 1926, in Tallahatchie County, to the late Oscar Vernon and Jessie Blanch Martin Newman, was a retired bookkeeper for Lipe Well and Gas Company of Pope. She was a member of Pope Baptist Church.

Survivors include: one daughter, Judith Lynne Henagan of Elizabeth, La.; two sons, Hugh Gary Taylor of Kirksey, Ky, Tim Taylor of Batesville; one sister, Belle Newman Lipe of Pope; 14 grandchildren and two step-grandchildren.

The family requests memorials be made to Pope Baptist Church Building Fund.

DALLAS, Ga. – Jim H. Westmoreland died Wednesday, Nov. 23, 2011.

Memorial services were held on Nov 28 at Lord & Stephens Chapel, West Funeral Home in Bogart, Ga. Shackelford Funeral Directors of Selmer, Tenn. had charge.

Survivors include: his wife, Terresa Westmoreland; sons James H. Westmoreland III of Greenville, S.C. and Joshua K. Westmoreland  of Panama City Beach, Fla., parents James H., Sr. and Harriet Dickins Westmoreland of Algood, Tenn. (both formerly of Batesville); siblings, Bob Westmoreland of Bethel Springs, Tenn. and Kristen Stennett of Meridianville, Ala,  and one grandchild.

Westmoreland, born in Fredricksburg in August of 1957, was a Marine veteran and graduate of University of Tennessee Martin. An employee of Lockheed Martin he was an active volunteer with the B.E.S.T Robotics and the F.I.R.S.T Robotics organizations.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to MDS-Foundation.org, American Cancer Society or charity of their choice.