Archives
 By  Staff Reports Published 
4:36 pm Sunday, January 12, 2003

Obituaries for Sunday, Jan. 12, 2003

By Staff
LOU CARLISLE
Retired
SOUTHAVEN Services for Lou Carlisle will be held today at 2 p.m. at Twin Oaks Funeral Home Chapel. Burial will be in Twin Oaks Cemetery.
Mrs. Carlisle, 67, of Southaven, died Thursday, Jan. 9, 2003, at Baptist Hospital in DeSoto. She was a retired office manager for Shelby Electric in Memphis, Tenn.
Survivors include her husband of 49 years, Bob Carlisle of Southaven; a daughter, Gayle Hamblin of Horn Lake; sons, Steve Carlisle of Meridian and Gene Carlisle of Senatobia; her mother, Caroline Rowell of Meridian; sisters, Ida Mae Riley of Mendenhall and Elizabeth Plowman of Meridian; a brother, Jimmie Rowell of Meridian; eight grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.
ERNEST ERASTUS SMITH
Truck driver for Freight Line
BUTLER, Ala. Services for Ernest Erastus Smith will be held today at 3 p.m. at Bumpers Funeral Home Chapel with the Rev. Scottie Fulcher officiating. Burial will be in Butler City Cemetery.
Mr. Smith, 89, of Butler, died Friday, Jan. 10, 2003, at Guardian Angel Hospice.
Survivors include his wife, Mary Smith, a son, Charles Q. Smith, both of Butler, sisters, Kate Banks, of Panama City, Fla. and Lillian Deloach of Reynolds, Ga.; two grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
Visitation will be today one hour prior to the services at the funeral home.
WILLIAM ROGER SMITH
YORK, Ala. Services for William Roger Smith will be held Monday at 11 a.m. at Bethel First Presbyterian Church. Burial will be in Central Cemetery with Bumpers Funeral Home in charge of arrangements.
Mr. Smith, 84, of the Sumterville Community, died Friday, Jan. 10, 2003, at Riley Hospital.
Survivors include his wife, Eugenia "Genie" Smith of Sumterville; sons, William Roger Smith Jr. and his wife, Sandra, of Greenville, Tenn., and Simon Jack Smith and his wife, Kim, of York,; daughters, Kathy Smith Rauls of Sumterville, Eugenia Smith Brachin and her husband, Barry, of Faunsdale and Betty Smith Brannon and her husband, Faris, of Frostproof, Fla.; 11 grandchildren, and 13 great-grandchildren.
Memorials may be made to Bethel First Presbyterian Church of Epes, Ala.
Visitation will be held today from 5 p.m.- 7 p.m. at the funeral home.
FRANCES STURGES LIDE
Meridian Housing Authority employee
Services for Frances Sturges Lide will be held Monday at 11 a.m. at St. Pauls Episcopal Church with the Revs. Duncan Gray and Edward O'Conner officiating. Burial will be in Magnolia Cemetery. James F. Webb Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
Mrs. Lide, 94, of Meridian, died Friday, Jan. 10, 2003, at Beverly Healthcare Center. She worked for Meridian Housing Authority for 20 years and was a member of St. Paul's Episcopal Church for more than 70 years. She graduated from Meridian High School and attended Mississippi State College for Women in Columbus.
Survivors include her sons, Brooks Lide and his wife, Cary M., of Atlanta, Doug Frances Terry Lide of Washington, DC; grandchildren, Brooks S. Lide III and his wife, Connie, Caroline Lide Ketchum and her husband, Kerry, William M. Lide, Courtney Lide Dickey and husband, William, and four great-grandchildren, all of Atlanta; a sister, Elizabeth McRae of Marianna, Fla.; and several nieces and nephews.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Brooks Smith Lide; her parents, Wilton Sturges and Frances Terry Sturges; sisters, Alice Sturges and Jane Carter; a brother, Wilton Sturges Jr.
Memorials may be made to St. Paul's Episcopal Church, 1116 23rd Avenue, Meridian.
Visitation will be Monday one hour prior to the services at the church.
O. JACK COMBEST SR.
Retired
Services for O. Jack Combest Sr. will be held Monday at 1 p.m. at Barham Funeral Home Chapel with the Rev. Hugh Poole officiating. Burial will be in Forest Lawn Cemetery.
Mr. Combest, 75, of Meridian, died Saturday, Jan. 11, 2003, in his home. He was retired from U.S. Steel and Rush Foundation Hospital security. He was a veteran of the U.S. Army and served in the Korean War and was a member of Rose Hill United Methodist Church.
Survivors include his wife, Janis H. Combest; children, Jack Combest and his wife, Lynn, all of Meridian, and Jenny McDaniel of Collinsville; a granddaughter, Joely McDaniel; sisters, Mary Massingill and her husband, Joe, of Opelika, Ala., Martha Broadhead and her husband, Norris of Meridian, Nell Finnigan and her husband, J.A., of Rose Hill, Joyce Thompson of Birmingham, Ala., Diane Hudnall and her husband, Wally, of Meridian; a sister-in-law, Jackie Liddle of Meridian and several nieces and nephews.
He was preceded in death by his parents, William Addis Combest and Mary Combest.
Pallbearers will be John Finnegan, Mike Finnegan, Nick Finnegan, Darryl Combest, Sammy Broadhead and Aaron Davidson. Honorary pallbearers will be John Burnett, Willie Mosely, Haskel Smith and Erbie Usrey.
Visitation will be today from 5 p.m.- 8 p.m. at the funeral home.

Also on Franklin County Times
Educators update states of their schools
Main, News, Russellville, ...
María Camp maria.camp@franklincountytimes.com 
November 19, 2025
RUSSELLVILLE — Local educators and community members gathered Thursday at Tharptown High School for the seventh annual State of the Schools program. T...
Dowdy guilty in dog mauling deaths
Main, News, Russellville, ...
By Brady Petree For the FCT 
November 19, 2025
RUSSELLVILLE — A Franklin County jury found Brandy Dowdy guilty of one count of manslaughter and one count of criminally negligent homicide after more...
Youth sports policy aims at bad conduct
Main, News, Red Bay, ...
By Brady Petree For the FCT 
November 19, 2025
RED BAY — Over the course of his 14 years coaching youth league sports, Torrey Lewey has noticed a plethora of changes, one of which includes a tenden...
West sings national anthem for Special Olympics
News, Russellville, Russellville Golden Tigers
María Camp maria.camp@franklincountytimes.com 
November 19, 2025
RUSSELLVILLE — Russellville High School senior Elijah West sang the national anthem at this year’s Special Olympics, marking his second time to perfor...
Garden club learns about poppy symbolism
Columnists, Opinion
HERE AND NOW
November 19, 2025
We began our November Cultura Garden Club meeting with a hands-on rock-painting activity led by muralist Ree Shannon of aRo Art & Design Concepts. Ree...
Electricity prices are soaring, and coal is a key solution
Columnists, Opinion
November 19, 2025
Electricity bills are climbing almost everywhere, and the reasons have little to do with ideology. Three forces are driving prices higher: massive new...
PCHS opens with 3 wins
High School Sports, Phil Campbell Bobcats, Sports
Bart Moss For the FCT 
November 19, 2025
The Phil Campbell Bobcats reeled of three straight basketball wins to open the season, beating Tharptown, Winston County and Cherokee. The Bobcats ope...
Young Lady Tigers still in building stage
High School Sports, Red Bay Tigers, Sports
By Brady Petree For the FCT 
November 19, 2025
While most coaches have their hands full managing one team, John Torisky once again returns to coach the Lady Tigers as well — giving him twice the am...

Leave a Reply

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