Obituaries for Thursday, Jan. 24, 2002

By Staff
EUNICE GRIMES
Homemaker
PHILADELPHIA Services for Eunice Grimes will be held today at 2 p.m. at McClain-Hays Funeral Service Chapel with the Rev. Jeff Mann officiating. Burial will be in Linwood Cemetery.
Mrs. Grimes, 91, of Union, died Tuesday, Jan. 22, 2002, in her home.
Survivors include two sons, John S. Grimes Jr. of Philadelphia and Perry Frank Grimes of Union; a sister, Myrtis Thomas of Fairhope, Ala.; five grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
W.E. BILL TINNIN
Retired auctioneer
Services for W. E. Bill Tinnin will be held Friday at 11:30 a.m. at Barham Funeral Home Chapel with the Rev. Otis Seals officiating. Burial will be in Forest Lawn Cemetery.
Mr. Tinnin, 76, of Marion, died Wednesday, Jan. 23, 2002, at Jeff Anderson Regional Medical Center. He was a member of the Lions Club and First Baptist Church of Marion. He was a 32nd degree mason.
Survivors include a daughter, Gail Pickard and her husband, Ray, of Marion; grandchildren, Craig Turner and his wife, Ami, of Toomsuba, and Karen Turner of Marion; great-grandchildren, Nolan and Hogan Turner; sisters, Bobbie Simmons of Meridian and Miriam Coleman of Mendenhall.
He was preceded in death by his wife, Marion "Tootie" Tinnin.
Pallbearers will be Craig Turner, Roger Cherry, Grover Gilbert, David Pickard, Jackie Pickard and Ken Beatty.
Visitation will be today 5 p.m.-8 p.m. at the funeral home.
MARY COOLEY
Homemaker
QUITMAN Services for Mary Cooley will be held Friday at 1 p.m. at Berry and Gardner Funeral Home with the Rev. Ronald Miller officiating. Burial will be in Oak Grove Cemetery.
Mrs. Cooley, 76, of Rockford, Ill., died Friday, Jan. 18, 2002, at Swedish American Hospital in Rockford.
Survivors include a daughter, Sammie Cooley Jones and her husband, Cornelius, of Rockford; a son, S.W. Cooley of Quitman; two grandsons and two great-grandchildren.
She was preceded in death by her husband and parents.
Visitation will be Friday 11 a.m.-1 p.m. at the funeral home.
JOHN D. BROWN JR.
Retired from Ford Motor Company
DEKALB Services for John D. Brown Jr. will be held Saturday at 1 p.m. at New Jerusalem Baptist Church in Meridian with the Rev. Steve Mosley officiating. E.E. McDonald Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
Mr. Brown, 59, of Philadelphia, died Saturday, Jan. 19, 2002, at the University Medical Center in Jackson.
Survivors include his wife, Eloise C. Brown of Philadelphia; two children, Keisha B. Williams and her husband, Eugene, of Cleveland, Ohio, and Frank M. Brown of Philadelphia; a sister, Bertha Armour of Philadelphia; one grandchild, several nieces, nephews, other relatives and friends.
He was preceded in death by his parents and two siblings.
Visitation will be Saturday one hour prior to the service at the church.
ALICE FAYE MURRAY
Services for Alice Faye Murray will be held Saturday at 2 p.m. at Mt. Sinai Baptist Church in Preston with the Rev. Melvin Rush officiating. Burial will be in Jerusalem Cemetery in DeKalb with Clark's Memorial Funeral Home in charge of arrangements.
Mrs. Murray, 59, of DeKalb, died Monday, Jan. 21, 2002, in her home.
Survivors include five sons, Dennis Murray, Bobby Murray and his wife, Brenda, Tim Murray and his wife, Sabrina, Howard Murray and his wife, Kendra, Jerome Murray and his wife, Ann, all of DeKalb; four daughters, Ruthie Murray, Michelle Murray and Sarah Herrington and her husband, Alan, all of Syracuse, N.Y., and Melissa Grace and her husband, David, of DeKalb; two brothers, Grady B. Lucas and his wife, Ann, of Detroit, Mich., and Frank W. Lucas and his wife, Johnnie, of Preston; a sister, Noverlene Murray of DeKalb; 22 grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
Visitation will be Friday 4 p.m.-7 p.m. at the funeral home.
DOROTHY ALICE CLARK
Memorial services for Dorothy "Dott" Alice Clark will be held Sunday at 1:30 p.m. at Clark's Memorial Funeral Home Chapel with the Revs. Ben Butler Sr. and Richard Parker officiating.
Mrs. Clark, 63, of Chicago, died Sunday, Jan. 20, 2002, at South Shore Hospital in Chicago.
Survivors include her husband, T.C. Clark, a son, TyShon C. Clark and two daughters, Cynthia D. Clark and Erica P. Clark, all of Chicago; a brother, Marvin Wheatley of Memphis.
She was preceded in death by her father, George Purtis and her mother, Mayolia Purtis.
ELMER BELL
Firefighter and fireman
SEBASTOPOL Services for Elmer Bell were held Monday at Bogue Chitto Gymnasium with the Rev. Shelly Peoples officiating. Burial was in the Bogue Chitto Baptist Church Cemetery in Philadelphia. Milling Funeral Home was in charge of arrangements.
Mr. Bell, 44, of Philadelphia, died Friday, Jan. 18, 2002, at University Medical Center in Jackson.
Survivors include his wife, Michele Bell, a daughter, Lanisha Genora Bell, two sons, Joseph Ryan Bell and Lorenzo Keith Bell, all of Philadelphia; five sisters, Juanita Chapman and Junie Cabrera, both of Philadelphia, Willie M. Wilson and Rena M. Edwards, both of Dallas, and Brenda Bell of Heidelberg; two brothers, Elon Bell of Walnut Grove and Levon Bell of Philadelphia; one grandchild and several nieces and nephews.
JOSEPH G. MCWILLIAMS
WHIDBEY ISLAND, Wash. Joseph Gleason McWilliams died in his home in Coupeville on Saturday, Dec. 30, 2001. He was 78.
He was born June 11, 1923, in DeKalb, Miss., to Zeb Gleason and Ada Holloway McWilliams. After attending Mississippi State University, he joined the U.S. Navy, serving first as a corpsman and later as a medical entomologist. He married Miriam Slight McWilliams in 1953.
Mr. McWilliams was a veteran of World War II, Korea and Vietnam, serving many stateside assignments, as well as in Egypt and Japan. He retired Aug. 1, 1977, in Washington D.C. as a captain (O-6) with 34 years of service. He was a member of the Retired Officers Association.
After retirement, Mr. McWilliams moved to Whidbey Island in 1978, settling in Coupeville. He traveled extensively, including trips to Kenya, Thailand, Russia, Europe and Australia. He spent his last year visiting and traveling with his high school sweetheart, Frances Clayton.
Mr. McWilliams was preceded in death by his first wife, Miriam McWilliams in December 1983. He married Mary Louise Johnson in Juneau, Alaska, on Aug. 28, 1992. She also preceded him in death in May 2000.
Survivors include a daughter, Patricia L. McWilliams of Diamond Mountain, Ariz.; a son, Dr. Michael G. McWilliams and grandchildren, Daniel and Rachel McWilliams, all of Corvallis, Ore.
Cremation was held. Burial was in Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Va. A memorial service will be held at a later date. Burley Funeral Chapel is in charge of arrangements.
VIRGIL L. COTTON
Arrangements were incomplete at Clark's Memorial Funeral Home for Virgil L. Cotton, 68, of Meridian, who died Wednesday, Jan. 23, 2002, at Rush Foundation Hospital.
REBA C. STEPHENS
Arrangements were incomplete at Stephens Funeral Home for Reba C. Stephens, 62, of Meridian, who died Wednesday, Jan. 23, 2002, at Jeff Anderson Regional Medical Center.