Prayer and Thanksgiving

To the Class of 58.

 

Thank you for all the kindness shown me in our WONDERFUL years attending school in Meridian. A prayer I received via e-mail sums it up well:

 

Father, Thank You for each and every day You have blessed us here on earth. Thank You for Your tender mercies and for giving us friends and family to share joys and sorrows with. I ask You to bless my friends, relatives, brothers and sisters in Christ and those I care deeply for. Where there is joy, give them continued joy, Where there is pain or sorrow, give them your peace and mercy forever.  In Jesus' name, Amen.

JAMES MINOR SMITH CLASS OF 58

Bobbie Tyner Morgan, Sister of Larry Tyner

Funeral services for Bobbie Tyner Morgan will be held on Monday, July 14, 2014, at 11 a.m. at Robert Barham Family Funeral Home, with Dr. Raymon Leake and Rev. Jack Kern officiating. Officiating graveside will be Dr. Carl White. Visitation will be held on Sunday, July 13, 2014, from 5 p.m. until 7 p.m. at the funeral home and one hour prior to the service on Monday. Burial will be in Magnolia Cemetery.

Mrs. Morgan passed away at her home on Friday, July 11, 2014. She was the daughter of Leroy and Estelle Tyner and was born on August 3, 1930.

Our mother was a member of many groups and organizations throughout her life in Meridian. What she will be remembered best for, as her friends can attest to, is her love of her Lord and Savior, and being a fierce prayer warrior. Even her great-grandchildren knew to call on “Mimi” when prayers were needed. That is her legacy. She taught Sunday school to young people for 25 years at First Baptist Church Meridian and co-taught adults at Highland Baptist Church Meridian. At 60 years old she began international lay mission work in Russia, Kagastan and the Ukraine. She spoke in many churches around the state about her mission work encouraging others to carry out “The Great Commission.”

She is survived by her daughters, Debbie Witherington of Clinton, and Lynne Compton and her husband, Robert of Meridian; son, Yates Morgan of Texarkana, Texas; grandchildren, Lori Sturgis Dodson and her husband, Patrick, Kathryn Monsour and her husband, Greg, Tyner Mikell and her husband, Jeremiah, Geron Morgan, Maj Morgan and Chad Morgan III; great-grandchildren, McCall Morgan and Miller Sturgis, Hays, Anniston and Stelynn Monsour, and Audrey Mikell; sister-in-law, Gayle Tyner; brothers, Fred Tyner and Larry Tyner and his wife, Charlotte; sister-in-law, Lena Morgan and many nieces and nephews.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Chad Y. Morgan, Sr.; her parents, Leroy and Estelle Tyner; her brother, Jack Tyner and her sister-in-law, Ann Tyner.

The family requests memorials to be made to Blair Batson Children’s Hospital or Highland Baptist Church Building Fund.

Pallbearers will be Jeremiah Mikell, Greg Monsour, Patrick Dodson, Lee Tyner, John Williams, Robert Compton, Lewis Tyner, and Clyde Serton. Honorary pallbearers will be Richard James, Rex Allman, Trevor Tyner, Houston Pearce, Stephan Pearce and Morgan Sturgis.

The family would like to extend a heartfelt thanks to her caregivers, Darlene Gibbs, Teresa Gates, Juanita Newell and Lois Hudson and also to Hospice Compassus for the excellent care, love, and compassion they showed our mother, grandmother and sister.

Family and friends may sign the online guest book at robertbarhamffh.com.

Source:  The Meridian Star

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O God our Father, Creator of all the living,
we entrust to Your gentle care
all those we love who have gone before us;
and have gone to their rest in the hope of rising again. . . .

Eternal rest, grant unto Bobbie, O Lord,
and let perpetual light shine upon her.
May the souls of the faithful departed
through the mercy of God rest in peace. Amen.

Great God Our King

 

 

My country, ’tis of thee,
Sweet land of liberty,
Of thee I sing;
Land where my fathers died,
Land of the pilgrims’ pride,
From every mountainside,
Let freedom ring!

My native country, thee,
Land of the noble free,
Thy name I love;
I love thy rocks and rills,
Thy woods and templed hills;
My heart with rapture thrills,
Like that above.

Let music swell the breeze,
And ring from all the trees,
Sweet freedom’s song;
Let mortal tongues awake;
Let all that breathe partake;
Let rocks their silence break,
The sound prolong.

Our fathers’ God, to Thee,
Author of liberty,
To Thee we sing;
Long may our land be bright
With freedom’s holy light;
Protect us by Thy might,
Great God, our King.

Sue Carolyn Shannon Martin

Mrs. Martin, age 73, of Meridian, passed away Saturday, March 1, 2014, at Anderson Regional Medical Center.     She was a graduate of Meridian High School.    She is survived by her husband of 39 years, John Martin of Meridian; son, Steve Frederickson and wife, Lisa; daughter, Janice Guenther and husband, Jeremy; grandsons, Kyle, Kris, and Jared. Family and friends may sign the online guestbook at robertbarhamffh.com. Robert Barham Family Funeral Home is in charge of the arrangements.

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O God our Father, Creator of all the living,
we entrust to Your gentle care
all those we love who have gone before us;
and have gone to their rest in the hope of rising again. . . .

Eternal rest, grant unto Sue, O Lord,
and let perpetual light shine upon her.
May the souls of the faithful departed
through the mercy of God rest in peace. Amen.

 

Phyllis Beckmann Ainsworth

Phyllis Beckmann Ainsworth, age 73, of McLean, VA died on Wednesday, June 11, 2014 at Reston Hospital Center.

Loving mother of Sterling Ainsworth and his wife, Charlotte; grandmother to Ryan Ainsworth and his step-brother and sister, Daniel and Cynthia Katz.

Phyllis was predeceased by her parents, Christian and Myrtle Beckmann; and by her sisters, Barbara Ethride and Edith Moulds.

Relatives and friends are invited to Phyllis's Life Celebration at Money and King Funeral Home, 171 W. Maple Ave., Vienna, VA on Sunday, June 22 from 2 PM until time of service at 2:45 PM.

In lieu of flowers, the family kindly requests a memorial contribution be made in honor of Phyllis Ainsworth to Make-A-Wish South Carolina, 225 South Pleasantburg Drive B8, Greenville, SC 29607 (www.sc.wish.org).

http://www.moneyandking.com/_mgxroot/page_10780.php?id=1390417

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O God our Father, Creator of all the living,
we entrust to Your gentle care
all those we love who have gone before us;
and have gone to their rest in the hope of rising again. . . .

Eternal rest, grant unto Phyllis, O Lord,
and let perpetual light shine upon her.
May the souls of the faithful departed
through the mercy of God rest in peace. Amen.

JUSTINE S. MANN, PH.D., MOTHER OF TEE MANN LONG

 

AnonymousMeridian StarSun May 25, 2014, 05:00 AM CDTA memorial service for Justine S. Mann, Ph.D., is planned in Washington, D.C. She will be interred in Magnolia Cemetery in Meridian, Miss., next to her husband, Col. Isham Wesley Mann Jr. Hodges-Moore Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.

Mrs. Mann, 98, formerly of Meridian, died peacefully in her sleep on Friday, May 23, 2014, in Statesboro. In 1956, Mrs. Mann was named Woman of the Year by the Business and Professional Women's Club of Meridian. The selection committee was composed of the Rev. Duncan Hobart, Walker George and Lix Fruge, Mrs. Meyer Davidson and Mrs. Charles Ray Jr.

Following the death of her husband in 1960, Mrs. Mann moved to Tuscaloosa, Ala., where she became the first woman to receive a doctorate degree in political science from the University of Alabama. After teaching several years at Arkansas State University, she took a position as chair of the Department of Political Science at Georgia Southern University, where she remained until her retirement in 1986.

Her second husband, Thompson Hibbs, died in 2008.

Dr. Mann is survived by her daughter, Tarpley M. Long of Washington; her sons, Timothy I Mann of Columbia, Md., and Anthony V. Mann of Statesboro; four grandchildren; six great-grandchildren; and her devoted caregiver, Julia Byrd.

SOURCE:  The Meridian Star

O God our Father, Creator of all the living,
we entrust to Your gentle care
all those we love who have gone before us;
and have gone to their rest in the hope of rising again. . . .

Eternal rest, grant unto Justine, O Lord,
and let perpetual light shine upon her.
May the souls of the faithful departed
through the mercy of God rest in peace. Amen.

Rosa Frances Rowzee Pettey, Mother of Mary Pettey Moore

(Died February 13, 2014)

Graveside services for Rosa Frances Rowzee Pettey will be held Saturday, February 15, 2014 at 1:00 p.m. at Magnolia Cemetery with Dr. Carl White officiating. Robert Barham Family Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.

Mrs. Pettey, age 101, of Meridian, died Thursday, February 13, 2014 at Golden Living Center. She was born on February 27, 1912, in Decatur, Mississippi and graduated from Decatur High School and from the second class of East Central Junior College. Mrs. Pettey retired from the Department of Human Services after 25 years of service. She was a member of Highland Baptist Church for 75 years where she taught Sunday school for over 50 years.

Survivors include her children, Leneal Massey (Hookey), Mary Moore, and Joe Pettey (Judy); grandchildren, Donnie Massey (Charlotte), Beth Dorman (Anthony), Isabel Corley (Phillip), Carol Fletcher (Brent), David Pettey (Heather), Bobby Wallace (Missy), and Tracie Hallberg; seventeen great-grandchildren; four great-great grandchildren; sister Lina Sartor; and numerous nieces and nephews.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Thomas Carson Pettey; parents, Samuel Joseph Rowzee and Maryanne Rebecca Brewer Rowzee; son-in-law Thomas K. Moore; sister Emma Addy; and brothers Samuel and Harold Rowzee.

In lieu of flowers the family request memorials be made to Highland Baptist Church.

Family and friends may sign the online guestbook at robertbarhamffh.com.

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O God our Father, Creator of all the living,
we entrust to Your gentle care
all those we love who have gone before us;
and have gone to their rest in the hope of rising again. . . .

Eternal rest, grant unto Hunter, O Lord,
and let perpetual light shine upon him.
May the souls of the faithful departed
through the mercy of God rest in peace. Amen.
 

Who are these old hippies?

Guess Who!!!



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The Greatest Jazz Films Ever - Part 2



May the Blessings of Christmas Be Yours



O Holy Night from Ron and, in Spirit, Mary Jane Heisterkamp

Obituary of Mary Jane Heisterkamp

Mary Jane Heisterkamp, 73, of Morrow, Georgia, died unexpectedly on December 18, 2013 at Southern Regional Medical Center in Riverdale, Georgia.

Mass of the Christian service will be at 10 a.m. on January 2, 2014, at St Philip Benizi Catholic Church in Jonesboro Georgia. Burial will be at a latter date.

Born in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, and raised in Meridian, Mississippi, Mary Jane Heisterkamp was born on June 11, 1940, the daughter of John and Mary Ellen (Davis) Kelly.  Mary Jane was united in marriage to Ronald J. Heisterkamp of Breda, Iowa, on December 18, 1965.  Known to everyone as “Ron and Mary Jane,” they were married for 48 years until her untimely passing.

Mary Jane is survived by her husband, Ron; daughter Virginia Dulaney (Andy) of Covington, Georgia; son Gary Heisterkamp of Morrow, Georgia; brothers in law Ralph Heisterkamp (Linda) of Lake City, Iowa, Paul Hike of Scranton, Iowa and Harlan Underberg; sisters in law Marilyn Babe (Rudy) of Breda, Iowa and Mary Heisterkamp of Coon Rapids, Iowa; along with many others.

Mary Jane is preceded in death by her parents John and Mary Ellen; parents in law Edgar and Dorothy Heisterkamp; brothers in law Donald and Edward Heisterkamp; and sisters in law Charlotte (Hike), Donna (Underbred) and Nancy Heisterkamp.

May Mary Jane's soul and the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace.  Amen.

Mary Jane Kelly Heisterkamp

Ron Heisterkamp, husband of Mary Jane Kelly Heisterkamp, sent out a very sad e-mail this morning that Mary Jane passed away in the early morning hours. Let us remember Mary Jane and Ron and family and friends in our prayers. We shall greatly miss her kind heart and hearing from her.

O God our Father, Creator of all the living,
we entrust to Your gentle care
all those we love who have gone before us;
and have gone to their rest in the hope of rising again.

Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners,
now and at the hour of our death. Amen.

Eternal rest, grant unto Mary Jane,
O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon her.
May the souls of the faithful departed
through the mercy of God rest in peace. Amen.

My Bucket List

After WWII ended, my family moved from Mobile, where my Daddy had been working in the shipyard, back to Kemper County.  We bought a farm with a log house, a big two story barn, and all the out buildings and equipment to be farmers.  Yes, we even had a well and an outhouse, but the war was over and we were happy. 

Mississippi was in a terrible drought, and our corn and cotton did not keep our family fed.  After a few years, around 1947, my Mother and Daddy decided to sell the farm and move to Meridian in search of a regular paying job.  I started second grade at Poplar Springs School.  We rented a house on Poplar Springs Drive, and Daddy went in search of a job.  He applied at St. Louis Hide, which was owned by Sammy Davidson.  Daddy learned how to drive a big truck, but this had to be the nastiest, stinkingist (if this is a word) job a man could ever have.  He would come home smelling like rotting flesh.  He even had to brush out the maggots from his cuffs in his pants, but it was a good job that took care of the family, and we were grateful.  Daddy loved working for Sammy!  We just didn't like to run to the door when Daddy got home!  He always had to bathe first.

Marty told me that his Daddy didn't have the extra money to pay for a motel room when my Dad had to deliver the hides to New Orleans, so Daddy had to sleep on top of the hides.  Yuk!  And you thought you had it tough?  This job qualified my Dad to drive for Deaton Truck Lines out of Birmingham for 26 years, until he retired.

 

Because of my Dad's relationship with Sammy, I had to make a decision for my little family, so I turned to Marty for advice.

After Billy (Faulkner) died, I was left with 3 babies.  I had no money and needed a job really bad.  I went to Southern Pipe and asked Marty if he could give me a job?   He hired me that day.  I was given a good job that paid the going rate at that time, and again I was grateful to the Davidsons.  I worked for one week and drew a paycheck of $35.00.  This was a good salary for starting out pay.  When I got home, and asked my babysitter how much I owed her, she said $35.00!  What?   She said you have 3 children, ages 1, 3, and 5!  I couldn't let someone else raise my children for the same amount I made. 

I told Marty that I couldn't work for him, and I totally understood that he couldn't pay me more.  God really does work in strange ways. Marty helped me make a decision.  

Another man had been begging me to marry him, and I kept telling him that I didn't love him and would not marry him, but he made me an offer that I couldn't refuse.  After I told him about my problems, he said to me, "If you will marry me, I will work and support you and your children, and you can stay home and raise your children."  I told him that I didn't love him and it wouldn't be fair to him.  Then he said to me, "That's OK, you will learn to love me! And you only have to stay married to me for 50 years!"  I said, "Let me think about it!"  I was 23 years old, my Mother and Dad liked him, my brother liked him.  He was in the class of 1954 with my brother Ozell, where he played basketball.  His name was Wanzie Strickland and he came from a good family.  My children told me that he would make a good Daddy!  So I agreed to marry him.   He had just gotten back to Meridian from being in the Army, and was living with his parents.  We married that Christmas and he moved in with us, and yes, I did eventually learn to love him. 

Now I have a decision to make.  Our 50th anniversary is this Christmas, and I have been a good and faithful wife to him, and he has stood by his promise, but the deal is up!  What should I do to renew this contract?   He is old and has really bad knees and can't help around the farm here.  But he has been there for me through all of my health issues.  I keep telling him that my contract is up, but I am not about to let him get away.   

I asked him why he was so determined to marry me, with 3 babies, and he said, "It is in the Bible!  The Bible says to take care of Widows and Orphans, and I got 4 stars in my crown already!"   God Bless him!   What a journey this has been, and how blessed I have been.  I love my life, I love who I am, and where I live, I have the very best family anyone could have, and I know all of this was in God's plan for me.  This path He had me walk down for 73 years has led me over some rocky places, but I have been able to stretch out my arms and soar with the very best. 

Thanks to all of you who have left footprints in my life and walked this crazy journey with me.  If we have another reunion, I want to be there, but if we get too old, and I go before you do, I will save a place for you in paradise.   

I told Marty Davidson that if he had paid me more, I would have kept my job with him and never married again, so thank you Marty for helping me make this decision.  I have always wanted to thank him, and I was able to do that at the reunion.  We had a good laugh about all of this, and I was able to get this off my "Bucket List." 

Much Love to you all,

Maxine Reeder Strickland

Hunter Lamar McQuaig, Grandson of Millie Majors Jones

Hunter Lamar McQuaig

The Meridian Star
MERIDIAN — Visitation for Hunter Lamar McQuaig will be held Friday from 5 until 8 p.m. at Stephens Funeral Home. Services will begin at 11 a.m. Saturday with Reverend Chris Gully officiating. Interment will be at Magnolia Cemetery with Stephens Funeral Home in charge of arrangements.

Mr. McQuaig, 24, died Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2013, at Rush Foundation Hospital in Meridian.

Mr. McQuaig graduated from West Lauderdale High School and was a member of Arkadelphia Baptist Church. He was a former member of the U.S. Army Reserves and was employed by Yates Construction of Philadelphia. In addition to being an animal advocate, his true passion was music. He spent much of his time songwriting and performing with friends and family in various venues in the Meridian area.

Survivors include his father, Scott McQuaig, and his wife, Kelly; his mother, Melanie Simmons; his step-mother, Joy Cook; his sister, Jessica Rudd and her husband, Rick; his grandparents, Millie Majors Jones and Parker and Viola Henderson; his aunts and uncles, Melanie and Bruce Mann, Michelle Boyd, Jerry Henderson, Tommy Henderson, and Steven Henderson; and numerous cousins, nieces and nephews.

Mr. McQuaig is preceded in death by his step-father, Jeff Simmons; his grandfathers, Emerson McQuaig and George Jones; and his great-grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. Lamar Majors, Mr. and Mrs. W. E. McQuaig, Sr., Mr. and Mrs. George O. McKeithen, Mr. William Henderson, and Mrs. Helen Palmer. Pallbearers will be John Edwards, Trey Hollis, Tom Williams, Jesse Prince, Josh Secrist, and Joe Secrist.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorials be made to East Mississippi Animal Rescue, the Mississippi Chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association, or your charity of choice.

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O God our Father, Creator of all the living,
we entrust to Your gentle care
all those we love who have gone before us;
and have gone to their rest in the hope of rising again. . . .

Eternal rest, grant unto Hunter, O Lord,
and let perpetual light shine upon him.
May the souls of the faithful departed
through the mercy of God rest in peace. Amen.

For Those Who Weep this Night

We have been blessed with long lives, all of us being about 73 years old.  We have known the joys of family, friends, perhaps children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren, and the joys and benefits of many of life's successes.  We have had a rich heritage of faith and values to guide us along the way. 
Our childhood was the best of times, although we may have been poor and things were not perfect.  We and our parents were members of the Greatest Generation.  Life has been great!!  Do I hear an amen?

One of the downsides of our long lives is that we have lost many of our family and friends.  We have lost parents, grandparents, brothers and sisters, spouses and tragically, children and grandchildren.  There is no sorrow like the sorrow of losing children and grandchildren.  When I think upon the death of one's child, my heart repeats, over and over, an Old Testament verse from Lamentations, "Is it nothing to you, all you who pass by?  Look and see if there is any sorrow like my sorrow, which was brought upon me . . . ."

When my mother was about my age, I gave her a copy of a prayer from Compline in the Book of Common Prayer from the Episcopal Church.  She framed it and kept it by her bed.  She prayed it before she went to sleep at night.  I pray this prayer tonight for all of you.

Keep watch, dear Lord, with those who work, or watch, or weep this night, and give your angels charge over those who sleep.  Tend the sick, Lord Christ; give rest to the weary, bless the dying, soothe the suffering, pity the afflicted, shield the joyous; and all for your love's sake.  Amen.

ABIDE WITH ME

Abide with me fast falls the eventide,
The darkness deepens Lord, with me abide;
When other helpers fail and comforts flee
Help of the helpless, O abide with me!

Night surely comes to end this passing day,
Earth’s joys grow dim, its glories pass away;
Change and decay in all around I see
O Lord who does not change, abide with me!

I need your presence every passing hour,
What else but grace can foil temptation’s power?
Who else like you will guide and stay with me?
Thru cloud and sunshine, O abide with me!

I have no fear with you close by each day,
Trouble and sorrow swiftly pass away;
And at my end death will not conquer me
For I shall live if you abide with me.

Your holy cross, your resurrection,
Come shining through the gloom with hope salvation;
As morning breaks and as faint shadows flee
In life, in death, O Lord, abide with me!

Words: Henry F. Lyte, 1793-1847
Music: William Henry Monk, 1823-1889

Reunion Pictures from Bob Chatham (II)

Joe Vincent Miller

 

Tee Mann Long & Joe Burnett

 

 

Ouida Landreth Tomlinson, Lynn Johnson Grimes,

Sarah Gibson & Everett "Buddy" Gibson

 

 

Donna Jill Johnson (Lynn's Sister),

Lynn Grimes Johnson,

and Martha Markline Hopkins

 

Ouida Landreth Tomlinson

and Harry Hopkins

 

Lynn Johnson Grimes

Edwina Hubert

and Phillip George

Beth, Jinny, Tee, Peggy, Martha, Lynn, Ouida,

Edwina, Coty and maybe Donna Jill. 

 

 

Jo Ann Gay and Carolyn Tanner Kozman

 

Jo Ann Gay and Carolyn Tanner Kozman

Morris Thigpen and Al Trussell

 

Al Trussell and John Loomis

 

Fay Shepard Walker and Clyde Searcy

  

 Carlee Hamilton Whitaker and Ray Whitaker

 

Maxine's Special Letter to All of Us

Dear classmates,

My self diagnosed prescription for my recovery was to be able to make this reunion to see everyone again.  It didn't matter to me how old we were, what we looked like, what we owned, or our material worth.  What mattered to me was to feel the love that we always shared starting with elementary school and continuing into out late teens.

We all grew up together and knew each other well enough to build a bond that has lasted all these years.  Most of us came from very poor families that had just survived WWII and knew the value of a dollar.  We attended schools that never had air conditioning, and most of us walked miles to school.  I know I did.  None of us were perfect, but as a group, we were pretty darn smart to survive the things we did, or else we were too dumb to know better. Ha

It was fun sharing stories with several of my classmates and discuss the teachers we had, but most of all, I got more energy from all the big HUGS from everyone.  I felt so comfortable walking up to good looking men and beautiful ladies and just embracing those hugs.  This is just a taste of what it will feel like when we get to Heaven!

There was something on my "Bucket List" that I have wanted to share with Marty Davidson for over 50 years, and I was able to do that.  We had a great laugh, and he shared something with me that I didn't know.  This story needs to be told also.

Thanks for everything,

Maxine Reeder Strickland