OBITUARIES FOR FRIDAY, NOV. 30, 2001
By Staff
SMYLIE LEE GEBHART
Services for Smylie Lee Gebhart will be held Saturday at 2 p.m. at Central United Methodist Church with the Revs. Jimmy Harrison and David McIntosh officiating. Burial will be in Magnolia Cemetery with Barham Funeral Home in charge of arrangements.
Mr. Gebhart, 51, of Meridian, died Thursday, Nov. 29, 2001, at Jeff Anderson Regional Medical Center.
He was a fourth generation member of Central United Methodist Church, where he served on the Administrative Board. Growing up in Meridian, Smylie was an Eagle Scout at 12 years-old, received the God and Country Award and was a member of the Order of the Arrow. He was an honor graduate of Meridian High School in 1968, where he was a member of Big Eight Championship football teams of 1966 and 1967, earning All-State first-team honors in 1967. He later was an All-Southern first-team choice at Georgia Tech in 1970-1971 and was named first-team Associated Press All American defensive end in 1971.
He was one of seven All-American collegiate members chosen by NCAA and U.S. Department of Defense to visit Pacific hospitals during the Vietnam War.
While at Georgia Tech, Smylie was a member of the "Outstanding College Athletes of America" and received the "R.C. McCutcheon Award" his senior year for outstanding contribution to the field of Industrial Management. He was a Dean's List scholar all four years.
After graduation from Tech, Smylie coached at Mississippi State for two years, when he left to enter private business as a sales representative for Graduate Supply Company in Jackson. After a serious accident in 1979 that left him a quadriplegic, he resided in Meridian.
Smylie was inducted into the Georgia Tech Hall of Fame in 1980. In 1987, Smylie received the honor of induction into The Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame. A member of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, Smylie received many other accolades and honors in his lifetime including "Sports Medicine Spirit of Achievement Award." When asked how he wanted to be remembered several years ago, Smylie replied, "As a Christian Athlete," with the emphasis on Christian.
Survivors include his mother, Ruth Smylie Gebhart of Meridian; two sisters, Gayle Gebhart Tyner and her husband, Jack, of Meridian and Sally Gebhart Perkins and her husband, Dave, of Jackson; a brother, Lelland Dean Gebhart Jr. and his wife, Margie, of Jackson; three nieces, Stephanie Tyner Pierce and her husband, Tim, of Daphne, Ala., Michelle Gebhart Neilson and her husband, Hal, of Oxford and Allyson Perkins Jacobi and her husband, Jim, of Duluth, Ga.; two nephews, Lelland Gebhart III and his wife, Marty, and Todd Perkins and his wife, Beth, all of Jackson; seven great-nieces and five great-nephews; five first cousins, Bill Smylie, Nell Shields McMullen, Sue Smylie Thompson, Milton Smylie, Warner Smylie and the late Alex Shields; and many special friends and faithful caregivers.
He was preceded in death by his father, Lelland Dean Gebhart Sr.
The family requests memorials be made to Central United Methodist Church, the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame and Museum, P.O. Box 16021, Jackson, MS 39236 or the Alexander Tharp Fund, c/o Jack Williams, 45 Cheshire, Lawrenceville, GA 30043.
Pallbearers will be his nephews. Honorary pallbearers will be coaching associates and his Georgia Tech teammates.
Visitation will be Saturday beginning at 12:30 p.m. at the church.
DUKE LEWIS MCCALOP
Retired fireman, hospital employee
GREENWOOD Services for Duke Lewis McCalop will be held today at 10:30 a.m. at Wilson and Knight Funeral Home Chapel with the Rev. Lester Jeffers officiating. Burial will be in Odd Fellows Cemetery.
Mr. McCalop, 85, of Greenwood, died Thursday, Nov. 29, 2001, at Indywood Glen Personal Care Home. He was a veteran of World War II serving in the U.S. Army, where he was a Civilian Conservation Corp member. He was a retired Greenwood fireman and a former Greenwood Leflore Hospital employee.
Survivors include his daughter, Mary Ann Cross of Meridian; a son, Larry McCalop of Cleveland; four sisters, Salley Mary Hodge of Indianola, Ermazine Fox of Holcomb, Lavonne McCord of Grenada and Billie Joyce Morgan of Union City, Tenn.; six grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.
RUBY GRACE RICHARDSON BETHANY
MACON Memorial services for Ruby Grace Richardson Bethany will be held Saturday at 1 p.m. at the Baptist church in Shuqualak with her grandson, Luther S. Cammack III officiating. Cockrell Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
Mrs. Grace, 95, died Tuesday, Nov. 27, 2001. She was a native of Neshoba County.
Survivors include her son, Thomas Richardson Bethany of Baton Rouge, La.; two daughters, Frances Bethany Cammack of Abilene, Texas, and Rosalyn Grace Ladd of Jackson; 10 grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Thomas Thornton Bethany and four brothers.
WALTER SIDNEY HUFFMANN
Retired salesman for Kraft Foods
BUTLER, Ala. Graveside services for Walter Sidney Huffmann will be held Saturday at 3 p.m. at Camp Springs Cemetery. Bumpers Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
Mr. Huffmann, 88, of Mobile, died Thursday, Nov. 29, 2001, at Bay Manor Health Care in Mobile.
Survivors include his wife, Lorene Hearn Huffmann of Mobile; two daughters, Kay A. Davis of Rustin, La., and Peggy Storey of Memphis, Tenn.; and several grandchildren.
Visitation will be today from 6 p.m.-8 p.m. at the funeral home.
DAN CARLISLE
Arrangements were incomplete at Berry and Gardner Funeral Home for Dan Carlisle, 99, of Anniston, Ala., who died Tuesday, Nov. 27, 2001, at Jeff Anderson Regional Medical Center.
B.M. FELDMAN
Arrangements were incomplete at James F. Webb Funeral Home for B.M. Feldman, 88, of Newton, who died Thursday, Nov. 29, 2001, at Riley Hospital.
PAULINE TOOLE
Arrangements were incomplete at Clark's Memorial Funeral Home for Pauline Toole, 79, of Toomsuba, who died Thursday, Nov. 29, 2001, at Riley Nursing Center.
