Obituaries for Wednesday, May 22, 2002

By Staff
JOEL WADE TATUM
NEWTON Services for Joel Wade Tatum will be held Thursday at 11 a.m. at Barham Funeral Home Chapel with the Rev. Stan Buckley officiating. Burial will be in Decatur Cemetery.
Mr. Tatum, 39, of Boswell, died Monday, May 20, 2002, in Rankin County.
Survivors include his mother, Patricia A. Ritter of Brandon; his grandmother, Mittie Lou Harris of Decatur; several uncles, aunts and cousins.
He was preceded in death by his father, Wilbur Hugh Tatum.
Pallbearers will be Bill Sullivan, Eugene Sullivan, James Harris, Steve Simkins, Clay Barnett and Greg Warren.
Visitation will be today 5 p.m.-8 p.m. at the funeral home.
DR. ROBERT M. RITTER
Psychiatrist
NEWTON Services for Dr. Robert M. Ritter will be held Thursday at 11 a.m. at Barham Funeral Home Chapel with the Rev. Stan Buckley officiating. Burial will be in Decatur Cemetery.
Dr. Ritter, 78, of Brandon, died Monday, May 20, 2002, in Rankin County. He was a longtime physician in the Jackson area.
Survivors include his wife, Patricia A. Ritter of Brandon; a son, Robert M. Ritter Jr. and his wife, Patricia Reeves Ritter, of Fort Worth, Texas; a daughter, Deborah Ritter McBride and her husband, Ron, of Fort Worth, Texas; grandchildren, Dr. Nettie Nichole Davidson of Jackson, Mary McCoy Hoges, Robert M. Ritter III, Anne Elizabeth Ritter, Emily Cox Ritter and Erick Reeves Ritter, all of Fort Worth; cousins, Billy Sullivan of Jackson and Eugene Sullivan of Tupelo; and several nieces and nephews.
He was preceded in death by a brother, L.D. Ritter and a granddaughter, Heather Lindsay Davidson.
Memorials may be made to the Mississippi Mental Health Association or a charity of choice.
Pallbearers will be Bill Sullivan, Eugene Sullivan, James Harris, Steve Simkins, Clay Barnett and Greg Warren.
Visitation will be today 5 p.m.-8 p.m. at the funeral home.
VERTIE LEE HILLMAN
UNION Services for Vertie Lee Hillman will be Thursday at 3 p.m. at Ennon Baptist Church with the Revs. Mike Fondren and Mike Smith officiating. Burial will be in Golden Grove Cemetery in Neshoba County. Milling Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
Mrs. Hillman, 77, of Union, died Monday, May 20, 2002, at Heartfelt Hospice. She was a member of County Line Baptist Church in Leake County.
Survivors include her daughters, Henry Earl Walters, Faye Coats and Jeanette Foy, all of Union; sons, Thomas Hillman of Louin and Calvin Hillman of Meridian; a brother, Rufus Spears of Philadelphia; a sister, Mae Swain of Louisiana; 10 grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.
She is preceded in death by her husband, Rufus Hillman.
Pallbearers will be Tommy Walters, Ray Coats, Mike Foy, Russell Douglas, Chris Ethridge, Byran Withers, Lamar Smith and Ron Smith.
Visitation will be today 6:30 p.m.-9 p.m. at the funeral home.
VIRGINIA HERSEY
Arrangements were incomplete at Enterprise Funeral Home for Virginia Hersey, 84, of Meridian, who died, Monday, May 20, 2002, in Chicago.
BESSIE STOKES
Arrangements were incomplete at Barham Funeral Home for Bessie Stokes, 79, of Springfield, Mo., who died Tuesday, May 21, 2002, at Maranatha Lodge Nursing Home.
WILLIE JIMMERSON
Arrangements were incomplete at James L. Osby Funeral Home for Willie Jimmerson, of Philadelphia, who died, Monday, May 20, 2002, in his home.