By Staff
LOLA S. RATCLIFF
Homemaker
Services for Lola S. Ratcliff will be held today at 11 a.m. at Stephens Funeral Home with the Revs. Joe Ratcliff, David Waites and John Koch officiating. Burial will be in Mt. Carmel Presbyterian Church Cemetery.
Mrs. Ratcliff, 81, of Bailey, died Saturday, March 23, 2002, in Meridian. She was a member of Arkaldelphia Baptist Church, Andrew Chapel Order of the Eastern Star and Mississippi Industry for the Blind.
Survivors include a daughter, Linda Riddle, two grandsons, Zane Riddle and his wife, Heather, and Todd Ratcliff and his wife, Tammy, and two great-grandchildren, Morgan Ratcliff and Zach Riddle, all of Bailey; and three nephews, Don Bell and his wife, Shirley, of Gore Springs, Louis Shultz and his wife, Betty, of Kenner, La., and Robert Gilbert and his wife, Judi, of Las Vegas.
She was preceded in death by her husband, T.O. Ratcliff; a son, E.O. Buck Ratcliff; her parents, James E. and Sara Boyd; a brother, James D. Boyd; and four sisters, Lottie Gilbert, Erninesteen Bell, Lyria Davis and Estelle West.
Pallbearers will be Zane Riddle, Todd Ratcliff, John Morse, Mike Ratcliff, Wayne Hedgepeth and David Parnell.
Honorary pallbearers will be Don Bell, Louis Shultz, John Hedgepeth, Billy Whitaker, Harlyn Whitaker, Ray Whitaker and Bob Morse.
CONDRA JAY POSEY
Retired technician
PHILADELPHIA Services for Condra Jay Posey will be held today at 2 p.m. at McClain-Hays Funeral Service Chapel with the Rev. Steven Porter officiating. Burial will be in Cedarlawn Cemetery.
Mr. Posey, 83, of Gulfport, died Friday, March 22, 2002, at Gulfport Memorial Hospital. He was a retired technician with the VA Hospital in Gulfport.
Survivors include his wife, Lora Posey of Gulfport; a son, David Posey of Berryville, Ark.; a sister, Owanna Oliphant of Oak Ridge, Tenn.; and a brother, Buford W. Posey of Purvis.
JOHN LEROY MCLELLAND
Boilermakers union
Services for John Leroy Mclelland will be held today at 3 p.m. at James F. Webb Funeral Home Chapel with the Rev. Dr. Malcolm Lewis officiating. Burial will be in Meridian Memorial Park Cemetery.
Mr. Mclelland, 61, of Meridian, died Friday, March 22, 2002, in Nowata, Okla. He was a member of Northcrest Baptist Church.
Survivors include his wife, Ouida Mclelland; two sons, Johnny Mclelland of Midland, Texas, and Ronnie Mclelland of Dalewood; a granddaughter, Ashley Mclelland; five sisters, Jeanette Smith, Betty Ethridge and Marian Jenkins, all of Meridian, Peggy Storey of Birmingham, Ala., and Edith Gerhardt of Virginia; and a brother, Donnie Mclelland of Hattiesburg.
He was preceded in death by his parents, Ida Mae Mosley Mclelland and R.T. Mclelland; and a brother, James Mclelland.
Pallbearers will be Grover Robinson Jr., Greg Gilbert, Larry Gilbert, Tommy Jenkins, Leonard Dean, Clayton Pool, Ollie Blyth, Mike Mclelland, Dennis Robinson, Paul Gardner, Phillip Gardner, Ricky Brown and David Brown.
ROBERT MOREE
Mission field work
Services for Robert Moree will be held Tuesday at 10 a.m. at James F. Webb Funeral Home Chapel with the Rev. Charles Miles officiating. Burial will be in Oakwood Cemetery in Gastonia, N.C., at 10 a.m. on Thursday with Ward Funeral Home in Gastonia in charge of arrangements.
Mr. Moree, 93, of Meridian, died Sunday, March 24, 2002, at Jeff Anderson Regional Medical Center. He was born in Williamsburg, S.C., and was a former resident of Lancaster, S.C. He lived 35 years in Gastonia. He and his wife ran a mission for the needy in Gastonia for years. Mr. Moree was a member of Glad Tidings Pentecostal Church.
Survivors include a daughter, Bettie Howard, grandsons, Leo Howard Jr., Robert Howard and his wife, Becky, and Stephen Howard and his wife, Melonie, granddaughters, Sharon Eakes and her husband, Ivey, Karen McPherson and her husband, Gary, and Marilyn Barnett, all of Meridian; 13 great-grandchildren, two great-great-grandchildren and several nieces and nephews.
Visitation will be today 6 p.m.-7 p.m. at the funeral home.
ILA HICKS WATKINS
Homemaker
BUTLER, Ala. Services for Ila Hicks Watkins will be held Tuesday at 10 a.m. at Bumpers Funeral Home Chapel with the Rev. Franklin McLelland officiating. Burial will be in Advent Cemetery in Silas.
Mrs. Watkins, 86, of Butler, formerly of Souwilpa, died Sunday, March 24, 2002, at Willow Trace Nursing Center.
Survivors include two sons, Nelson Watkins of Butler and Hugh Watkins of Millry; sisters, Hazel Taylor and Dorothy Manning and a stepson, A.T. Watkins, all of Mobile; five grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren.
Visitation will be today 6 p.m.-8:30 p.m. at the funeral home.
JOSEPH G. MCWILLIAMS
Retired captain U.S. Navy
Memorial services for Joseph Gleason McWilliams will be held Tuesday at 11 a.m. at Lauderdale United Methodist Church with the Rev. Davey Wilkinson officiating. Burial will be in Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Va., on March 28.
Mr. McWilliams, 78, died Sunday, Dec. 30, 2001, in his home in Coupeville, Wash.
He was a veteran of World War II, Korea and Vietnam, and retired from the Navy as a captain after 34 years of service.
Survivors include a daughter, Patricia L. McWilliams of Diamond Mountain, Ariz.; a son, Dr. Michael G. McWilliams and his wife, Marybetts, grandchildren, Rachel and Daniel McWilliams, all of Corvallis, Ore., two nieces, Carol D. Coggin of Greensboro, N.C., and Debra Little of Pensacola, Fla.; a nephew, Billy Joe Little of Cantonment, Fla.; many cousins and friends.
MIRIAM QUINN SIMMONS
Former state legislator
COLUMBIA Miriam Quinn Simmons, 73, a former state legislator and member of the State College Board, died Wednesday, March 20, 2002, in her home.