Archives
 By  Staff Reports Published 
6:23 pm Saturday, October 26, 2002

MARY FRANCES EASTERLING

By Staff
MORTON Services for Mary Frances Easterling will be held Sunday at 12:30 p.m. at Ott &Lee Funeral Home Chapel in Morton. Burial will be in Sims Cemetery.
Mrs. Easterling, 63, of Morton, died Friday, Oct. 25, 2002, at Scott Regional Hospital in Morton.
Survivors include her husband, Norman L. "Buddy" Easterling of Morton; a son, Randy Easterling and his wife, Suzanne, of Morton; a brother, George Shaw and his wife, Jean, of Philadelphia; a sister-in-law, Marynita Shaw of Pelahatchie; and a grandson, Casey Easterling of Morton.
Visitation will be today from 4 p.m.-8 p.m. at the funeral home.
REV. HORACE LINTON
Services for the Rev. Horace "Grumpy" Linton will be held Sunday at 3 p.m. at Stephens Funeral Home Chapel with the Revs. Terry Upchurch, R.E. Bonner and Paul Raley officiating. Burial will be in Springhill Methodist Cemetery.
Rev. Linton, 81, of Meridian, died Thursday, Oct. 24, 2002, at Jeff Anderson Regional Medical Center. He was a veteran of the U.S. Army and served in World War II. He was a chaplain of 123D Medical Co. (Air Ambulance-Mississippi Air National Guard) for more than five years. He was a minister for more than 50 years and worked more than 60 years as a carpenter.
Survivors include his daughters, Shirley Byrne and her husband, Jack, and Betty Bradley and her husband, Eddie, and Catherine Bowden, all of Meridian; seven grandchildren; 10 great-grandchildren; and two great-great-grandchildren; brothers, Carl Linton, Donnell Linton and Bernard Linton, all of Meridian and Royce Linton of Oxford; and his faithful dog, Buffy.
He was preceded in death by his wife, Lucille Linton and a son, Al Linton; his parents, Author and Sarah Linton.
Pallbearers will be Scott Young, Wayne Flemming, Richard Waltman, Raymond Henson, Donnie Rawson, Van Meadows and Aubrey Linton. Honorary pallbearers will be Eddie Broadway and Jack Young.
Visitation will be today from 5 p.m.-9 p.m. at the funeral home.
IDA B. ALEXANDER BELL
Retired cook
Services for Ida B. Alexander Bell will be held Monday at noon at Fifth Street Baptist Church with the Rev. William Brown officiating. Burial will be in Meridian Memorial Park Cemetery with Berry &Gardner Funeral Home in charge of arrangements.
Mrs. Bell, 64, of Meridian, died Thursday, Oct. 24, 2002, at her home.
Survivors include her husband, Elijah Bell of Meridian; two daughters, Mary W. Hudson and Shirley Ann Harrison, both of Meridian; a son, Louis Alexander of Meridian; three brothers, Nathan Alexander and William Alexander, both of Meridian and C.J. Alexander of Detroit; six grandchildren; and five great-grandchildren.
She was preceded in death by her parents.
Visitation will be held one hour prior to the service at the church.
ZENAIDA R. VILLANUEVA
ORLANDO, Fla. A private service for Zenaida R. Villanueva will be held at a later date with burial in Vista Memorial Gardens. Family Funeral Care is in charge of arrangements.
Mrs. Villanueva, 86, of Florida, died Thursday, Oct. 24, 2002, in Longwood. She was a Roman Catholic.
Survivors include two sons, Roland, of Fern Park and Jerry Jr., of DeKalb, Miss.; a brother, Bolivar Rivera of Sebring; a sister, Carmen R. Tolosa of Longwood; three grandchildren, Jesse, of New York, and Misha and Alexis, both of Fern Park.
CHERRY HODGES JONES
Retired real estate broker
Arrangements were incomplete at Barham Funeral Home for Cherry Hodges Jones, 77, of Meridian, who died Friday, Oct. 25, 2002, at her home.

Also on Franklin County Times
‘All we did was done fully’
Main, News
María Camp maria.camp@franklincountytimes.com 
December 17, 2025
THARPTOWN — Glenda Amelia Aycock-Long has lived many chapters, each distinct, each demanding, each shaped by her willingness to say “yes” to the next ...
Patriot Riders give ‘brother’ full honors
Main, News, Russellville, ...
Kevin Taylor For the FCT 
December 17, 2025
RUSSELLVILLE — Vietnam veteran Avery Brewster finally received the full military funeral he deserved. Local American Patriot Riders escorted a hearse ...
Ayers, at 90, still a pillar of community
Main, News, Phil Campbell, ...
María Camp maria.camp@franklincountytimes.com 
December 17, 2025
PHIL CAMPBELL — Barbara Ayers, who taught home economics at Phil Campbell High School for more than three decades, remains engaged in the life of the ...
A jolly good time was had by all
Franklin County, Main, News, ...
December 17, 2025
Community members gathered last week to celebrate the season with annual Christmas parades in Russellville, Red Bay, Vina and Phil Campbell. Parade wi...
Garden club hosts ‘Every Light a Prayer for Peace’
News, Russellville
María Camp maria.camp@franklincountytimes.com 
December 17, 2025
RUSSELLVILLE — Community members gathered at the Franklin County Courthouse on Thursday for the annual “Every Light a Prayer for Peace” ceremony hoste...
Cyber criminals target holiday shoppers
Columnists, Opinion
HERE AND NOW
December 17, 2025
Online scams have grown more sophisticated in recent years, making it harder for people to tell legitimate businesses from fraudulent ones. Members of...
State has chance to get data center boom right
Columnists, Opinion
December 17, 2025
Every day, we read about massive data centers coming to the Southeast. Billions of dollars. Thousands of construction jobs. The promise of economic tr...
Baker reaches 1,000 career points
High School Sports, Phil Campbell Bobcats, Sports
María Camp maria.camp@franklincountytimes.com 
December 17, 2025
PHIL CAMPBELL — Phil Campbell High School senior Leela Baker has added her name to a small group of Franklin County athletes by scoring the 1,000th po...

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *