July 9, 2003

Published 12:00 am Wednesday, July 9, 2003

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.

Ed L. Griffin

Ed L. Griffin died Tuesday, July 8, 2003, at River Region Medical Center. He was 94.

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Mr. Griffin retired from Waterways Experiment Station as a concrete finisher. A veteran of the Army, he served in World War II. He was a member of Sunshine Lodge No. 99 AF&AM and Mount Pisgah M.B. Church, where he was chief usher.

He was preceded in death by a son, Junior Griffin; three sisters, Mary Ollie Wallace, Annie Lee Wallace and Dorothy Griffin; and his father and stepmother, Jim and Bertha Griffin.

Survivors include his wife, Nellie Ruffin Griffin of Vicksburg; one son, Michael Byrd Griffin of Vicksburg; a brother, Preston Griffin of Vicksburg; two sisters, Ora Downings of Chicago and Leethia Butler of Washington, D.C.; and two grandchildren.

W.H. Jefferson Funeral Home has charge of arrangements.

Benjamin F. Odom

Benjamin F. Odom died Monday, July 7, 2003, in Jackson. He was 62.

Born in Kosciusko, Mr. Odom had lived in Vicksburg since 1963. He retired as chief engineer of the MV Lipscomb for the Army Corps of Engineers Vicksburg District after 36 years of service. He was a Navy veteran and a member of Woodlawn Baptist Church.

Survivors include his wife, Kay Kelly Odom of Vicksburg; a daughter, Teresa Odom Segers of Vicksburg; his mother, Estelle Odom Lishman of Kosciusko; two brothers, Howard Odom of Covington, La., and Dolen Odom of Jackson; two grandchildren; a great-grandson; and other relatives.

Services will be at 3 p.m. today at Center Baptist Church in Center, Miss., with the Rev. H.C. Adams officiating. Burial will follow at the family cemetery under the direction of Jordan Funeral Home in Kosciusko.

Visitation was scheduled for 1 p.m. until the service today at the funeral home.

Pallbearers will be James Odom, Chandler Odom, Len Odom, Victor Segers, Hunter Henderson and Robert Johnson.

Grady Lee Williams

Grady Lee Williams died Wednesday, July 9, 2003, at River Region Medical Center. He was 87.

A native of Mount Vernon, Ark., Mr. Williams had been a Vicksburg resident since 1944. He worked as a field engineer for the ASCON Hasler Rockaway Corp. in Rockaway, N.J., for a number of years. He retired in 1979.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Lenora Mae Goss Williams and James Albert Williams; a sister, Eldean Vallerway; and three brothers, Tom Williams, B.H. Williams and Buck Williams.

Survivors include his wife, Charlsie Rhea Williams of Vicksburg; two daughters, Barbara O’Connor of Jacksonville, Fla., and Patsy Faulk of Vicksburg; two sisters, Clara M. Kinder of Cape Girardeau, Mo., and Trina Peterson of Jackson, Tenn.; a brother, Johnny E. Williams of El Paso, Texas; five grandchildren; 10 great-grandchildren; and nieces and nephews.

Services will be at 11 a.m. Friday at Glenwood Funeral Home with Tony Lalli, pastor of Vicksburg Church of Christ, officiating. Burial will follow at Cedar Hill Cemetery.

Visitation will be from 10 a.m. Friday until the service at the funeral home.

Pallbearers will be Hugh Allen, Chestley Nash, Jerry Goings, R.E. Coker, Bendel White, Carroll Foote, Grover Sanders, Oren Reeves, John McCullough and Mike McCullough.

Honorary pallbearers will be Dr. Lee Giffin, Joe Durst, Dr. Susan Chiarito, and elders and deacons of the Vicksburg Church of Christ.