The Vicksburg Post prints obituaries for residents, former residents and residents’ immediate family members who resided elsewhere when notified by a family member or a funeral home. There is no charge for printing an obituary, but all are edited to meet the newspaper’s requirements.

Merrill J. Hemby

OCEAN SPRINGS Merrill J. Hemby died Tuesday, March 18, 2003, in Biloxi. He was 85.

Mr. Hemby was a retired captain from the Navy, serving in World War II as a naval aviator. He was born in McComb and had lived in the Gulf Coast area for the past 30 years. He retired from North American Aviation and Ingalls Shipbuilding.

Mr. Hemby was a Master Mason, 32nd Degree in York Rites at Whitehall Lodge No. 0761. He was a member, deacon and elder at First Presbyterian Church of Ocean Springs.

He was preceded in death by his wife, Virginia N. Hemby.

Survivors include two daughters, Diane Bowden of Gulfport and Lynn Collier of Vancleave; two sons, Stan Hemby of Ocean Springs and Robert Hemby of Clearwater, Fla.; six grandchildren; and others, including relatives in Vicksburg.

Services will be at 10:30 a.m. Friday at First Presbyterian Church in Ocean Springs. Burial will follow with military honors at Biloxi National Cemetery under the direction of Bradford O’Keefe Funeral Home in Ocean Springs.

Visitation will be from 9:30 a.m. Friday until the service at the church.

Memorials may be made to First Presbyterian Church of Ocean Springs, 921 Ocean Ave., Ocean Springs, MS 39564.

James T. Henley

Services for James T. Henley were at 10 a.m. Tuesday at Southside Baptist Church with the Rev. Greg Clemts officiating. Burial followed at Edwards Cemetery.

Mr. Henley died Saturday, March 15, 2003, at River Region West. He was 92.

A native of Sunflower County, Mr. Henley had been a Vicksburg resident since the early 1940s. He was a retired auto serviceman and a member of Southside Baptist Church. He served as a deacon and minister of music in several churches. He was a charter lifetime member of the R.A.M. Chapter 3.

He was preceded in death by his wife, Daisy B. Henley; his parents, T.T. and Sadie Longacre Henley; a great-grandson; four brothers; and three sisters.

Survivors include two daughters, Barbara Moore and Judy Thompson, both of Vicksburg; a brother, George Henley of Albany, Ind.; a sister, Ruth Bodron of Vicksburg; seven grandchildren; 20 great-grandchildren; three great-great-grandchildren; and other relatives including, Gene and Eula Ramsur of Lenard, Texas, and Peggy and Ray Jobe of Tallulah.

Pallbearers were Tommy Thompson, Bubba Thompson, Billy Thompson, Michael Thompson, T.J. McDuff, David Hamilton and Bobby Moore.

Honorary pallbearers were Dr. Bill Pierce, Danny Fahlstrom, Leonard Fahlstrom and Ollie Thompson.

Memorials may be made to Southside Baptist Church, 965 Fisher Ferry Road, Vicksburg, MS 39180.

Evelyn Givens Middleton

Services for Evelyn Givens Middleton will be at 2 p.m. Saturday at King David M.B. Church No. 2. Burial will follow at Cedar Hill Cemetery.

Visitation will be from noon until 7 p.m. Friday at Lakeview Funeral Home and from 1 p.m. Saturday until the service at the church.

Mrs. Middleton died Monday, March 17, 2003, at her daughter’s home in Jackson. She was 66.

Mrs. Middleton served as church secretary at King David M.B. Church No. 2.

She was preceded in death by her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Elisha Tolliver Sr.; a son, Harold L. Givens; a grandchild, Dominick Givens; and two sisters, Mottel Doss and Annie Mae Tolliver.

She is survived by five daughters, Dobra Pulliam and Debra Scott, both of Memphis, Delphine Givens Smith and Nadia Middleton, both of Vicksburg, and Alexelisha Sanders Luckett of Jackson; three sons, Benjamin Givens of Vicksburg, Joel Givens of Atlanta and Dennis Givens of Jackson; five brothers, David Tolliver, Robert Tolliver and Elisha Tolliver, all of Vicksburg, Harold Tolliver of Aurora, Ill., and Emmanuel Tolliver of Brooklyn, N.Y.; six sisters, Louise Bunch of Detroit and Bessie Smith, Roxie Hebron, Cassie Parker, Savannah Williams and Alean Luster, all of Vicksburg; and grandchildren, great-grandchildren, nieces, nephews, cousins and friends, including Billy Ferguson, Victoria Ray, David Ray and Hope Hicks.

Donna Jo Nettles

Donna Jo Nettles died Tuesday, March 18, 2003, in a motor vehicle accident. She was 52.

Born in Cincinnati, Ohio, Mrs. Nettles was a former Arkansas resident and had lived in Vicksburg for the past 12 years. She was employed at Ameristar Casino.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Kenneth Wayne Nettles, and a son, David Joseph Ainsworth.

She is survived by one daughter, Amanda E. Briscoe of Mountain View, Ark.; five sons, Christopher J. Ainsworth of Vicksburg, Michael J. Ainsworth of Redwood, Robert J. Ainsworth of Mobile, Ala., Clarence J. Ainsworth III of Houston, Texas, and Francis J. Ainsworth of Marcella, Ark.; and eight grandchildren.

Memorial services will be at 3 p.m. Friday at Riles Funeral Home with the Rev. Charles Abbey officiating.

Visitation will be from 2 p.m. Friday until the service at the funeral home.

Mary Frances Shelley

Mary Frances Shelley died Tuesday, March 18, 2003, at University Medical Center in Jackson. She was 32.

Miss Shelley was a 1988 graduate of Vicksburg High School. She was employed with River Region Health Systems and a member of Mount Zion No. 1 Baptist Church.

She was preceded in death by her grandmother, Mary Frances Shelley; her father, Rubin Earl Mixon; and an uncle, Finiers Tommy Huntley.

Survivors include her mother and stepfather, Hattie Shelley-Dunn and Arthur Glenn Dunn of Vicksburg; two sons, Marquise Lovette and Corey Lovette, both of Vicksburg; two daughters, Amber Lovette and Rolanda Lovette, both of Vicksburg; three sisters, Tanja Wesley and Amelia Mixon, both of Vicksburg, and ShuVaughn Shelley-Yancy of Roanoke, Va.; nieces; nephews; aunts; uncles; and other relatives and friends, including Wallace Horton and Bobbie Jean Henderson.

Services will be at 1 p.m. Saturday at Baltes Gym with the Rev. Peter Shelley officiating. Burial will follow at Cedar Hill Cemetery.

Visitation will be from 5 until 7 p.m. Friday at W.H. Jefferson Funeral Home and from noon Saturday until the service at the gym.