Obituaries for Tuesday, March 23, 2004

By Staff
UNION Services for Arch Mingo will be held today at 11 a.m. at Bogue Chitto Baptist Church with the Rev. Charles Doby Henry officiating. Burial will be in Community Cemetery in Bogue Chitto. Milling Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
Mr. Mingo, 82, of Philadelphia, died Saturday, March 20, 2004, in his home.
Survivors include his sons, Marzine Mingo and John Mingo Jr., both of Philadelphia and Charlie Hickman of Kemper County; daughters, Pauline Mingo, Laline Rush, Maline Bell and Lorene Cumberland, all of Philadelphia; sisters, Sarah Jim of Walnut Grove, Mary Tubby, Joyce Needham and Zella Cravatt, all of Philadelphia; 21 grandchildren and 31 great-grandchildren.
GULFPORT Graveside services for Margaret Cunningham Weir will be held Wednesday at 1 p.m. at Magnolia Memorial Gardens Cemetery in Meridian. Riemann Memorial Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
Mrs. Weir, 83, of Gulfport, formerly of Meridian, died Monday, March 22, 2004, in Gulfport. She was a native and longtime resident of Meridian and had been a resident of Gulfport for the past three years. She was a member of Trinity Presbyterian Church in Meridian.
Survivors include her daughter, Judy Ryan and her husband, Pat, of Gulfport; a daughter, Anna Katharine Weir of Austin, Texas; grandchildren, Ashley Smith of Baton Rouge, La., Elliott H. Weir III, of Austin, and Heather Ryan of Gulfport; two great-grandchildren, Braden Cospelich and Travis Weir.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Elliott H. Weir Sr.; her parents, Robert Wesley and Lillian Allen Cunningham and a son, Elliott H. Weir Jr.
Memorials may be made to The American Heart Association, P.O. Box 638, Gulfport, MS 39502.
Retired
Services for Ernest Daniel "Cootsie" Baker will be held Thursday at 10 a.m. at James F. Webb Funeral Home Chapel with the Rev. Dr. Keith Grubbs officiating. Burial will be in Memorial Park Cemetery.
Mr. Baker, 74, of Meridian, died Saturday, March 20, 2004, in his home. He was a member of Jones Memorial Presbyterian Church. He was an avid bowler and a lifetime member of The American Bowling Congress. He was a veteran of the U.S. Army and was the retired mail room supervisor and a courier. He was a graduate of Meridian High School where lettered in football, basketball and track.
Survivors include his former wives, Chestine Baker Thrash and Barbara Medellin; daughters, Lorey Jones and her husband, Tylon, of Meridian and Beverly Steiner and her husband, Kevin, of Tampa, Fla; sons, Bruce D. Baker and his wife, Carla, of Biloxi and Damon Dearmon of Meridian; five grandchildren and three great-grandchildren and several nieces and nephews.
He was preceded in death by his parents, Ernest Robert Baker and Mary Ethel Chancelor Baker.
Pallbearers will be Paul Baker, David Smith, Jay Mackey and Jimmy Gower. Honorary pallbearers will be Bernard Hoy, C.W. Gray, M.A. Copeland and Sonny Evans.
Visitation will be Wednesday 5 p.m.-7 p.m. at the funeral home.
Retired Mississippi Forestry Commission
FOREST Services for Joy Eastland "Bill" Pope were held Saturday at 2 p.m. at Cash Baptist Church in Lena with the Rev. Tim Mowdy officiating. Burial was in the church cemetery. Colonial Chapel Funeral Home was in charge of arrangements.
Mr. Pope, 82, of Cash, died Wednesday, March 17, 2004, at Mississippi Baptist Medical Center in Jackson. He served in the U.S. Army.
Survivors include his wife, Doris M. Pope; a son, Randal Scott Pope of Meridian and five grandchildren.
He was preceded in death by his daughter Joy Ann Nehrbass and a sister, Estell Moore.
Arrangements were incomplete at Berry and Gardner Funeral Home for Joe Armstrong, 83, of Meridian, who died Sunday, March 21, 2004, at Queen City Nursing Center.