By Staff
Retired bookkeeper
PHILADELPHIA Graveside services for Bonnie Saxon Phillips will be held today at 2 p.m. at Cedarlawn Cemetery with the Rev. Dr. Dan Howard officiating. McClain-Hays Funeral Service is in charge of arrangements.
Mrs. Phillips, 87, of Philadelphia, died Wednesday, Jan. 16, 2002, at Neshoba County General Hospital.
Survivors include her husband, Charles Preston Phillips of Philadelphia; sisters, Ethel Lundy and Mary Kate Ray of Philadelphia, and Martha Smith of Greenville, S.C.; and a brother, George T. Saxon of Philadelphia.
ROBERTA MORRIS
Homemaker
MANCHESTER, Tenn. Services for Roberta Morris will be held Saturday at 10 a.m. at the Coffee County Funeral Chapel with the Revs. Jay Archer and Billy Ray Panter officiating. Burial will be in Rose Hill Memorial Gardens.
Mrs. Morris, 81, of Manchester, died Thursday, Jan. 17, 2002, at Coffee County Nursing Home. She was a homemaker and legal secretary for Garrett, Shields and Rogers.
Survivors include her husband, Al Morris of Manchester; a son, John Robert Morris of Hartshorne, Okla.; a daughter, Linda Ann Jones of Memphis, Tenn.; four grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren.
She was preceded in death by her parents, James Robert Rowzee and Gertrude Norris Rowzee.
The family requests donations be made to the First United Methodist Church Renovation Fund.
Visitation will be held today from 5 p.m.-9 p.m. at the funeral home.
EVA ERSCELLE RIVERS
Services for Eva Erscelle Rivers will be held Saturday at 10 a.m. at James F. Webb Funeral Home Chapel with the Revs. Carless Evans and Buddy Petty officiating. Burial will be in Magnolia Cemetery.
Mrs. Rivers, 82, of Meridian, died Wednesday, Jan. 16, 2002, at her home. Mrs. Rivers was married Jan. 31, 1946 and hospice held a special place in the life of Mrs. Rivers.
Survivors include her husband, Robert B. Rivers Sr.; a son, Robert B. Rivers Jr., two brothers, W.C. Hodges and E.A. Hodges, all of Meridian; four grandchildren, Candie, Mandie, Leann and Christopher; and special family members Joshua and Faith Wimberley.
She was preceded in death by her parents, William Daniel Hodges and Leota Hodges and a sister, Audrey Mae Hodges.
Pallbearers will be Otis Weir, Bill Goble, William Hodges, Greg Lashley, Robert Massey and Robbie Massey.
Visitation will be held today from 5 p.m.-8 p.m. at the funeral home.
BARBARA LANG STEPHENS
Homemaker
Services for Barbara Lang Stephens will be held Saturday at 11 a.m. at Barham Funeral Home Chapel with the Rev. G. Mitchell McDonald officiating. Burial will be in Beason Cemetery.
Mrs. Stephens, 58, of Collinsville, died Tuesday, Jan. 15, 2002, at Rush Foundation Hospital. She was a homemaker, a member of the Collinsville Church of God, a member of Eastern Star and a licensed cosmetologist.
Survivors include her husband, Dexter Stephens of Collinsville; a daughter, Marie Smith of Ft. Worth, Texas; two sons, Mack Foy and his wife, Kitty and Paul Foy and his wife, Diane, both of Anderson, Ind.; two brothers, Clayton Lang of DeKalb and Howard Lang of the Martin Community; four sisters, Margaret Landstreet of Vancleave, Helen Bridges of Louisville, Mary Ezell of Bailey and Betty Rawlings of Starkville; four grandchildren, Tyler Green, Brittane Foy, Nathaniel Foy and Lindsey Foy; and several nieces, nephews and cousins.
She was preceded in death by her parents, C.T. and Mattie Sue Lang and a brother, Johnnie Frank Lang.
Pallbearers will be nephews.
The family requests memorial be made to the American Heart Association, 1316 25th Ave., Meridian, MS 39301.
Visitation will be held today from 5 p.m.-9 p.m. at the funeral home.
YOLANDA MCCLELLAND
Meridian High School student
Services for Yolanda McClelland will be held Saturday at 1 p.m. at Mt. Olive Baptist Church with the Revs. Richard Parker and Zachary Operton officiating. Burial will be in Little Zion Church Cemetery in Collinsville. Clark's Memorial Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
Miss McClelland, 18, of Meridian, died Monday, Jan. 14, 2002, at her home. She was born May 2, 1983, to Felicia McClelland and Johnny Smith here in Meridian. She attended schools in the Meridian Public School District and was a senior at Meridian High School when her "sweet spirit" finished its course on Jan. 14, 2002. She had been a member of the ROTC and enjoyed attending and working at the Boys and Girls Club. She had received a scholarship in mortuary science and planned to attend East Mississippi Community College and become a mortician.
She leaves to cherish her memory her mother, Felicia McClelland of Union; her father, Johnny Smith of Meridian; her step-father, Willie Hardy Jr.; her devoted great aunt and caretaker, Willia Faye Wilson; her loving and caring "knight in shining armor" Torey Bates; two sisters, Stacey McClelland and Alicia Wilson; three brothers, Corey McClelland, Michael McClelland, and Joshua Wilson; her grandmother, Jeanie Hampton and her husband, Marcello; her grandfather, Theodore Jackson; her great-grandmothers, Gertrude Trussell and her husband, Curtis and Rosie Smith; two aunts, Tammy Jackson and Savannah Lynn-Hales and her husband, Roderick; two uncles, Theodore "Teddy" Jackson III and Cortez Jackson; her godfather, Lorenzo Clayton; her "best friends" Cyntel Wilson and Yolanda Simmons; her mentor and family friend, Ricky Hood; several great aunts and uncles, nieces and nephews, cousins, other family members and friends.
Visitation will be held today from 4 p.m.-7 p.m. at the funeral home.
WILLIAM EDWARD LANG
Retired service technician
Services for William Edward Lang will be held Saturday at 2 p.m. at Barham Funeral Home Chapel with the Revs. Douglas Stone and Bob Wilkerson officiating. Burial will be in Meridian Memorial Park Cemetery.
Mr. Lang, 45, of Meridian, died Tuesday, Jan. 15, 2002, at his home. He was a member of Trinity Assembly of God Church, a member of the Christian Motorcycle Association and worked for Johnson Mobile Homes for 17 years before his retirement in 1999.
Survivors include his wife, Carol Ann Lang of Meridian; two daughters, Marie Nicholas and her husband, Alan, of Bay St. Louis and April Lang of Meridian; a son, Samuel Lang and his wife, Lacey, of Meridian; four sisters, Vera Mae Pilgrim of Meridian, Magaline Eakes of Philadelphia, Georgia Watkins of Noxapater and Mattie Fedrick of Louisville; two brothers, Edward Lang of Little Rock and Hubert Lang of Philadelphia; his parents, Leon and Lona Lang of Louisville; his mother- and father-in-law, Sam and Jewel Tucker of Meridian; three grandchildren, Amanda Johnson, Jasmine Lang and Anastasia Nicholas; and several nieces, nephews, aunts, uncles and cousins.
Pallbearers will be Tim Alexander, Butch Smith, Arthur Brooks, Chris Branning, Craig Edwards, Donald Key, Gene Tucker, Matthew Tucker, Scott Shannon, Cliff Buckalew, Joe Tucker and Bill Dyess.
Visitation will be held today from 5 p.m.-9 p.m. at the funeral home.